Child Abuse Poems that Will Make You Feel Sympathy
Being a victim of sexual harassment or assault is a particularly difficult time. In addition to the constant struggle to remain safe and protected, survivors of sexual assault still have to deal with an ever-triggering news cycle.
You may not be able to completely grasp what they are going through if you’re not a survivor yourself, but you’re close to one, maybe a girlfriend, friend, or family member, and you may feel frustrated or lost about how to better help them.
Here are a few poems you need to know.
The Script
Picked up a script, and started reading,
Didn’t put it down for years,
Had no clue that it would be leading
To binding shame and ferocious fears.
Had no choice; it was thrust upon me,
Before I could even tell the time,
Didn’t know it would be decades
Until the clock of freedom would chime.
I saw, and heard, and felt and tasted,
Smelt and read and read some more,
‘Til not one little dot was wasted
I’d absorbed the book and learnt the score!
I’d move to the sound of the unbending rhythm,
Measured, restricted, no room to reform,
No Love or dominion to re-write the lyrics,
Or insider’s knowledge to save me from harm
Such was the screenplay mapped out before me,
Including instructions on how I should act,
Now that I live on the right side of healing , I ask,
“What was fiction, and how much was fact?”
By Abigail
Gaps
Gaps in the graphics,
Always knew they were there,
But stuff I saw made me
More reluctant to share
It was fresh, it was new,
Never been there before,
And the scary specifics
Made me feel like a whore
I know if I trust You
I’ll come out the other side,
With more freedom than ever,
Nothing to prove, lose, or hide.
Gaps in the graphics,
Want them to stay as they are
Then once and forever,
That ship can sail afar.
By Abigail
Plenty
I mumbled yet you did not ask me to repeat myself.
You knew that I would have said, “Nothing”.
You knew, though in saying nothing, that I was saying plenty,
You perceived correctly,
That my expression was all I could possibly manage at that time
There was no sound, but we both sensed the reverberating din.
Here was the reality of the deep and painful story being told.
It was as though in the silence, you heard my questions and answers.
In my omission, you discerned the guilt and the shame.
“If I speak, what will happen?” I thought.
Even I knew the mute anger was bouncing off the walls, and resting on my lips.
That intake of breath, the faint whisper, void of decibels, spoke volumes.
You recognised that it was deafening, it must have been hard for you too,
Yet your gentle eyes said, “I understand. Please don’t worry, I will wait.”
Some things cannot be hurried, especially when they’re coming from such a distance.
Up and over the mountain of fear, trudging through the swamp of denial,
Crawling through the nettles of despair, shuffling across the bridge with no name
No name for the story yet to be released.
Your genuine smile said, “At least you are here. You are safe, you are moving forward.
Be at ease. I am at ease with your silence. I will wait. Take your time.”
Now I can’t thank you enough.
By Abigail
That Look
As they walk through the door, just one look in their eyes,
Tells me, “Yes, it’s going to be one of those nights”
The knot in my tummy starts heaving and weaving its way
Through my system.
The runaway train in action.
Who knows if or when it will stop?
It runs out of steam and eventually grinds to a halt,
And I am left in the wake of that smoky bitter encounter.
“Will this ever end?” I ask myself in the dark. “No”, I reply
As my companion Despair wraps his arms around me,
And together we wait for the dawn.
What a snapshot.
Then one day, I snapped, and shot them a glance which said,
“No more. You can’t make me do that anymore.
You can’t make me squirm and disappear with the elves
Ever again.
I’m here. I’m present. I’m strong, and I choose my own nights,
My own encounters, my own mode of transport, to where I
Choose to go…I think.”
Another time, another place, another look, or should I say,
“gaze?”
Beckoning me to a place of safety with no tricks, no trains, no
knots.
Who ever imagined a true definition of, “Love”, the unfailing kind
that never leaves?
One look into those eyes, and I am guided on a journey of healing,
And wholeness, boldness and more than a snapshot of who I
Really am.
What a sweet adventure, even on shady days.
“Will it ever end?” I ask in the light. “No” I hear back.
And I am wrapped in warm silk, and comforted for life.
Now I sit and I smile with my companion..Insight.
By Abigail
Walls
Today my walls came crashing down
The walls that made me frown
Maybe tomorrow I’ll smile
Just for a while
When they crashed
I thought my hopes were dashed
Tomorrow I’ll smile
Just for a while
When I let you in
I can’t hear the din
Today I’ll smile
Yes smile
Just for a while.
By Ed
Beauty
Tell me of a child’s beauty that waits inside, lying dormant ready to grow.
Is this the beauty, not stolen but wrongly borrowed,
the spirit and the treasure hidden?
Or is this the false beauty of the person whole,
lost behind walls of secrets, lies and truths to be told.
Beauty is the peace, the mended holes in body and soul.
The time of knowing, of feeling, of being
and understanding all that has passed and making it one.
By Simon
Beyond The Mask
Beyond the mask
Our greatest fears
Beyond the mask
Flows uncried tears
Beyond the mask
Much pain and hurt
The brokenness of a human heart.
Beyond the mask
Too deep to measure
The thoughts and memories buried there
No amount of pleasure can repair.
Beyond the mask
Bitterness and anger are strongly rooted
Is there a love that can ever uproot this?
Beyond the mask
Dare we journey there?
But the constant hate and turmoil who alone can bear?
Beyond the mask
That lonely place where no-one seems to care or love us.
Yes, it’s such unpleasant ground,
Yet it’s in this very same place that healing is found
Beyond the mask
Go deep,deep, deep beyond.
God will you give the courage and strength to journey on.
Beyond the mask
Reality, truth and those inward parts the years so well conceal.
Take off the mask,
Begin to peel
How beautiful – when you are revealed!
By Gemma
Silent Scream
Sometimes it can’t be heard
It gets stifled by the louder other things.
Things that mask and disguise it
Things that try to protect its release
If you listen carefully, really carefully
Really want to listen
you can hear it
Faintly pleading, quietly longing to be heard
But you don’t listen
Your ears are filtered, just hearing those who are
obvious and immediate
But it’s still there, it does not leave
the voice of my silent scream.
By Tia
My Childhood
I used to drift away
I didn’t want to stay
In this world
I used to lie on my bed in the dark,
Imagining that if I was quiet and small enough
I could disappear
Vanish into thin air.
I had no one to turn to,
No one to share the pain,
My world was lonely, isolated, dark and plain.
How could you leave me?
How could you betray me so,
When you knew how lonely I was,
Why did you let me go?
Why didn’t you come to hold me,
Why didn’t you ease the pain?
Why didn’t you let me know
You were there for me through joy and pain.
Why didn’t you show me love,
And that there’s someone who cares,
When you saw the hurt inside me,
And how I was all alone and scared?
How could you leave me?
How could you betray me so,
When you knew how lonely I was
Why did you let me go?
By Kati
Child Abuse
You’re still young and innocent and mild
After all you’re still only a child
You have parents, that are supposed to protect you
But often they don’t, more than they do
Some fathers love their kids more than anything
But there are bad ones, that disgrace they will bring
You dread the night, when you go to bed
That he will come in, say things that shouldn’t be said
They will sneak around when no one else is home
They can’t hurt you if they can’t catch you alone
They will say you can’t tell what they did to you
They will tell you lies that just aren’t true
You get so you can’t stand his filthy touch
They say they do this because they love you so much
You want his love and so afraid to tell
Love him so much, don’t want him in jail
You feel so hopeless and so very sad
Can’t remember a time, that he made you glad
If your mother doesn’t believe you, continue to tell
You need to do something, scream or yell
This is a poem, that’s hard to hear
You don’t deserve the pain and all the fear
Some people have children, they don’t derserve
Our children’s rights, we have to preserve
You can go to school and tell your teacher
If that doesn’t work go and tell your preacher!
By Donna Nimmo
Returning Faith
You took away my innocence,
My hopes, my dreams, my youth.
You took from me my very soul.
What could have been, I never knew
Your words would cut me deep inside,
Deep to the very core.
Darkness. Cold. I could not feel.
Why did you hate me so?
You crushed me as I screamed in pain.
Your words ripped out my heart.
The world grew dull. I felt insane.
Did you ever care about that part?
Is that what you wanted all along?
“I win!” “You lose!” A game?
Control, submission, guilt, defeat.
Yet, I still remain.
It was for a child that I lived,
Although I rather would have died.
Now, how I thank God for that child?
Because of her, I have survived.
I will live in spite of you.
You no longer have a say.
My life, my body, my mind, my soul,
You will never again have control.
Whether in this world or in the next,
Justice will have a way.
You hurt me and you almost won
But “You Lost!” I have to say.
A new dawn breaks of hope and peace,
Of happiness and grace.
From me, these things YOU CANNOT TAKE.
My head held high, I walk by faith!
Unmasked
Don’t believe my words;
they’re lies that I fabricate to
project a perfect life and
convince you I’m okay.
Don’t trust the smile you see;
it’s a facade to conceal
searing pain, acute shame,
sheer heartache.
Don’t get fooled by my laughter;
it is merely an echo
of hollow insides, yearning
for senses to return.
Don’t get convinced by my clarity and order;
borne in attempt to
control the chaos
and pacify the storm brewing inside.
Don’t be blinded by
The perfection I exude,
The courage I fake,
The innocence I feign,
The confidence I wear-
For I am broken.
By Bruk Linn
You…
Your words to me are weakness.
They slay me to the ground.
Sometimes you make me feel lost,
Though I’m wishing I were found.
Your voice to me is quicksand,
So soft yet full of danger.
Sometimes you start out happy,
But in the end you’re filled with anger.
Your eyes to me are icy,
So beautiful yet so hard.
Sometimes I pray to fix you,
But some people are just too scarred.
Your fist to me is deadly,
So powerful yet deserved.
It makes me question your love for me,
And my tears feel like they burn.
My love for you is toxic,
So enchanting yet so wrong.
Sometimes I feel I’m drowning.
I feel like I’m going.
Going.
Gone.
A Cry for Help
A child so small
so vulnerable and weak
helpless, powerless
not allowed to speak.
Lying awake in bed
knowing he’ll soon appear
Frightened and trapped
living a torturous nightmare.
Body is shaking
trembling within
preparing for
the terrible acts of sin.
Left all alone
with no one in sight
The abused child cries silently
all through the night.
How does one heal
from such a horrible crime?
The scars, the damage
lasts a lifetime.
Emotionally I struggle
to make it through
Not knowing why
I feel and act the way I do.
The tragedy is over
but the turmoil is still there
I wonder, if my outbursts
is a way to see if anyone cares.
Please! God help me
I cry out
with so much anguish
fear and doubt.
By Barbara Green.
