Breakaway Poem by Doug Hollywood Davis

The stillness of the night is broken
As a lone figure slowly maneuvers through the dark
A prepacked suitcase quietly removed from the closet with the precision of a thief,

This time would be for real
No more changing her mind
No more second chances

As she stealthily walks through the house
Her mind flashes back to happier times
Before he lost his job
Before he started drinking
He was a loving husband
So loving and caring that he would drop everything for her
But all that changed,

The bruises she could no longer hide
The excuses she had used time and time again

There was no doubt that she loved him
She hoped things would change but the didn't

The alcohol poisoned his mind
Poisoned his soul
But she still loved him

'Maybe'...she thinks
'I should give him another chance'
'After all...five years is a long time to just throw away'
She ponders on a distant thought,

As the moonlight seeps into the window
The object of her love and her fear
Tosses restlessly in his sleep

She knows that time is running out for her
She must make a choice

Should she stay and try to mend the broken fences of her marriage?
Should she try to get him counselling and hope by some miracle that she survives until he is cured...if he is cured?

Or should she just leave it all behind
try to pick up the pieces of her life and begin anew? ,

As the front door gently closes behind her
And the tears begin to flow down her cheek
She listens obediently to the little voice in her head

A voice that had been ignored so many times in the past
But now demands to be heard...saying

'Breakaway'

'Breakaway'