NO WORDS
I was beaten into silence as a young child
from my father's brutalizing rage and
psychological torture as he punched me.
When I was 5, a man exposed himself, to me
I ran fast terrified, no words were spoken.
When I was 21 my boyfriend said, “I’m going to
F-Up your pretty face so no one ever looks
at you again,” with that, I had no words.
When the ER doctors urged me to tell the Police
that boyfriend fractured my cheekbone & blackened
my eyes, I never spoke of these assaults.
When riots broke out in high school, a large boy
shoved me against the wall, his hands on my
throat, he yelled say something, I had no words.
When several powerful lawyers I worked
with made sexual comments, I quit instead
of finding my words.
When a careless driver struck me down
altering my life, as I lay in the street,
a crowd around me, I had no words.
While visiting a relative, her drunken boyfriend
kicked me in the eye almost detaching my
retina, in court I cried, no words were spoken.
At a club, I drank soda, got dizzy; a guy put me
in his car, as I vomited; he threw me behind a
building; I never spoke of this attempted rape.
When my ex-husband committed
emotional & physical crimes against me,
I left without a word.
Still society has bullied me into silence otherwise
risking the harsh judgment of their punishing
remarks on my character.
Today, my words are not so eloquent,
but they do contain hard truths, as
God is always my Witness.
Copyright © Diane Perna | Year Posted 2025
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