Sunday 26 April 2015

178: Accepting the Truth


I want to stand up to you
But I can’t.

I think I am a strong independent woman
I reject the outrageous hurtful things you say and do
I fight back verbally
I reason and rationalise
I listen and sympathise
I stand up for my kids and then cower
When you turn those malevolent eyes on me.

My anger and indignation will only get me so far
My sense of right and wrong
Dissolves under threat of physical violence
I am a coward and I hate myself for it.

How did I get here?
How did I lose myself so completely
And become this hologram?
How does an intelligent woman wind up in a therapist’s chair
Deep in shock after hearing the words

“You realise this is domestic violence.”

I can’t take it in
Not in that moment
In fact not for a whole year
A year of watching my own life play out like a UN observer
A year of excuses and defensiveness
While the evidence around me stockpiles.

Finally my internal siege walls tumble
And the shocking reality of our existence
Becomes visible to even my blinkered eyes.

The truth has been uncovered
The truth has been accepted.


Lady Satellite

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