I wish I could expose and shame
All those who abused you when you were a girl
Growing up in a torrent of hail and pain
As they stripped the remains of your childhood away
The foster-mother who neglected you
The foster-father who molested you
The welfare worker who imprisoned you
The state psychiatrist who violated you
The extended family that turned their eyes blind
The review board members who enabled it all
I wish I could avenge the damage
That impels your daily struggle for peace
Your search for perfection and release
And your courageous strength of will
Reaching for what is normal and whole
Show me who to shame and kill
To avenge the damages done to you
And the hurts to those who love you now
Inflicted in collateral
I know there is no revenge to be had
Your abusers are escaped or dead
But they live on among us, untouchable
In all the damage they do and did.
Once the damage is done there is no revenge that will make amends. A strong poem with much feeling.... Love, Fran xx
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
I have to echo Fran, Frank. No amount of revenge can ever give us back the innocence, security, trust, and respect we once had, before all the abuses happened. Even after 40 years, the most strongest abuses I endured, still haunt me, and the shower can't wash it all away either. It takes a lifetime, and then some, to be able to handle what happened to us. Sometimes, it will take forever. And then most often than not, we can never really handle it at all. Just live, or exist rather. This poem was written for all of us who have been abused. Thank you Frank, because this was written with emotion and determination. With super love and big as the sky hugs, Barbara 'If I have to be this girl in me, Then I have the right to be.'