Notes About The Poem

Walk A Mile in Her Shoes - Contest  - poem awarded 8th place

Within These Walls

Nobody knows what’s going on within these four walls
The fighting, the shouting, the pain and suffering – no friend ever calls
The skin around your eye is as black as the night
Yet you cover it up, no-one knows about your plight

‘Oh I caught it against the cupboard door or tripped and fell on the floor’
These are the excuses – we have heard them all before
Its not just physical violence you can see
There is verbal abuse that eats away at me

Both men and women can be the aggressors
With their violence and abuse they are the oppressors
‘Oh its just his way he loves me really’ she said
But in the morning she could be lying dead

Stand up to the bullies don’t let them get away
Or you may not be here to see another day
Talk to someone there are people who can help
And hopefully by the law they can be dealt

Submitted to the Dark Side of Love Contest
Sponsored by Shadow Hamilton

2nd November 2014
Copyright © | Year Posted 2014


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Date: 2/6/2016 7:45:00 PM
thank you for the kind reply
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Date: 2/6/2016 4:14:00 PM
Jan, Congrats on "Your Dark Side of Love WIN!!!" XOX ~LINDA~
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/6/2016 4:16:00 PM
Thanks Linda it is a very emotive subject:-( hugs Jan xx
Date: 2/5/2016 1:39:00 PM
jan, seething write for bullies...congrats on your shining win.. huggs
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/5/2016 1:47:00 PM
Thanks Nette it is good to be able to get more reads of my poem with this contest:-) hugs Jan xx
Date: 2/5/2016 11:17:00 AM
A powerful write Jan...Congrats on your win!
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/5/2016 11:47:00 AM
Thanks Joseph:-) hugs Jan xx
Date: 2/5/2016 8:56:00 AM
Love your encouraging spirit! Congrats on your great placement, Jan!
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/5/2016 8:58:00 AM
Thanks Balveen:-) hugs jan xx
Date: 2/4/2016 1:06:00 PM
Miss lady Jan, wonderful poem, such depth and it is raw poetry. Well done, *smiles* -luloo
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/4/2016 1:09:00 PM
The was based on observation and things I have read Luloo can't believe how long ago I wrote it:-) hugs Jan xx
Date: 2/4/2016 10:48:00 AM
Great poem, Jan. I think there are way too many people caught in this vicious web. Congratulations on your fine win. Hugs, Sandra
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/4/2016 11:23:00 AM
Thanks Sandra it is such an emotive subject - many many years ago I used to work with a girl who was regularly coming into work with black eyes/ bruises etc and she would always have an excuse but we knew who was really causing her pain:-( hugs Jan xx
Date: 2/4/2016 9:18:00 AM
Congratulations Jan on your win! I like how you described the problem and offered a solution. Dark with some hope.
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/4/2016 9:19:00 AM
In reality it must be terribly difficult to escape an abusive relationship Susan:-( hugs Jan xx
Date: 2/4/2016 7:54:00 AM
Well written, Jan. Once again congratulations on your win.
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/4/2016 9:15:00 AM
Thanks Daniel:-) hugs Jan xx
Date: 2/4/2016 7:40:00 AM
great pen Jan congrats on 3rd place hugs
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/4/2016 9:14:00 AM
Thanks for giving us the chance to showcase old poems too I remember writing this one a long time ago:-) hugs jan xx
Date: 2/4/2016 6:21:00 AM
Congratulations on taking this one off the shelf for a win. Well done, Jan.
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/4/2016 6:25:00 AM
It was one of my early writes Lin so it lovely for it to be viewed again :-) hugs jan xx
Date: 1/9/2015 6:25:00 PM
*nor. Guess I can't spell either. *S* Cynthia
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Cynthia Jones
Date: 1/9/2015 8:04:00 PM
LOL I hear ya there my friend. hehe *S* Cynthia
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Jan Allison
Date: 1/9/2015 6:38:00 PM
lol I have finger trouble too need a 'smell chequer' for my computer lol:-) Hugs jan xx
Date: 1/9/2015 6:24:00 PM
Woman not man should endure this kind of pain. Excellent write you have yourself here Jan. Already saved in my fav's. And a 7 rating. Well done. :O) Keep up with the great work. Keep on penning. Thank you so very much for sharing your wonderful and creative talents with us. We all truly appreciate it. *S* Cynthia
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Cynthia Jones
Date: 1/9/2015 8:03:00 PM
Good thing it's a fictional write. Oh wow!!!! That's horrid. :OS *S* Cynthia ~HUGS~
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Jan Allison
Date: 1/9/2015 6:37:00 PM
Thankfully its a fictional write on my part but is based on memories from my teenage years where someone i worked with was a victim of abuse - the stories she came up with the explain the bruises - oh breaks my heart to think back all those years:-( hugs jan x
Date: 8/14/2014 6:09:00 AM
So true Jan...I am so worried right now....hugs Tim
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Jan Allison
Date: 8/14/2014 6:35:00 AM
You and me both Tim :-( ... I've sent soup mail to our friend. Hugs Jan xxxx
Date: 8/10/2014 7:33:00 AM
Needed to be written, and oh so well too..straight to the point, Jan, like this...
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Jan Allison
Date: 8/10/2014 9:14:00 AM
Thanks Harry - it was written for a contest but some of the poem is true based on what I saw a colleague go through when i was 16 - she tried to cover it up but we could see past the 'excuses' she gave for her black eyes and bruising - so so sad and it still goes on today:-( Hugs Jan xxx
Date: 4/23/2014 6:24:00 AM
Congrats on your win. No one knows the life of sadness and fear a victim leads and they can't always ask for help.
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Jan Allison
Date: 4/23/2014 6:46:00 AM
thanks for the lovely comment Monterey I can only imagine the pain and suffering abused people go through. Hugs Jan x
Date: 4/21/2014 10:22:00 PM
Jan, congratulations, such a sad subject ...Seren
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Jan Allison
Date: 4/22/2014 1:45:00 AM
Thanks Seren for the lovely comment. Hugs Jan xx
Date: 4/21/2014 6:38:00 PM
Jan, , Loved how you extracted this one away. Congratulations, this is a great win, for such a painful and realistic theme, when writing about this topic, In which phantom's around Abused Women. Have a nice day:) ~LINDA
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Jan Allison
Date: 4/21/2014 6:42:00 PM
Thanks Linda I really appreciate your kind words. Hugs Jan xx
Date: 4/21/2014 6:10:00 PM
Well done Jan, congrats on a powerful write and win. Hugs
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Jan Allison
Date: 4/21/2014 6:13:00 PM
Thanks Cecilia - I'm delighted to have received a placement in this very worthwhile contest. Hugs Jan x
Date: 4/21/2014 4:19:00 PM
Thank you for entering the contest, Jan and congratulations on your placement. I found this poem to have nice flow, rhyme and meter. I also thought you brought up some very powerful and valid points about abuse: "Its not just physical violence you can see / There is verbal abuse that eats away at me" and "Both men and women can be the aggressors" are insightful and thoughtful messages that all should hear. Thanks. Joe
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Jan Allison
Date: 4/21/2014 4:21:00 PM
Thank you so much Joe - its a poem I wrote not long after I joined the site in February - since then the creativity has just come from nowhere. Thank you for bringing this contest to highlight this continuing abuse. Hugs Jan xx
Date: 4/21/2014 1:29:00 PM
Jan... this is one so personal... women may not be beaten or bruised... but inside of her soul, she is bleeding... with a double-edged sword that slashed her heart... a verbal abuse she endure all the time... I am part of their world... and still don't escape from the dark... CONGRATULATIONS on your win!! ..a new fave on my list.. ...!! :O))oxoxoxo
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Jan Allison
Date: 4/21/2014 1:34:00 PM
wow thanks so much for the lovely comment Aiyah. its not written from personal experience - well not my own anyway but when i was 16 and a student a girl at the nursery I worked at came in with a black eye and we had the caught it on the door excuse - it happened week out week in but she just wouldn't get out of an abusive relationship - so sad hugs Jan xxxx
Date: 2/13/2014 7:49:00 AM
Tackling a subject that's anything but poetic. Well expressed and rhyming too ...
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/13/2014 4:39:00 PM
Hi Patricia Thanks for the lovely comment. Ive only been writing poems for 3 months and having such fun being creative and yet still tackling subjects like domestic abuse and bullying is something I never thought I'd write about. regards Jan x
Date: 2/11/2014 4:37:00 PM
Domestic violence is a big problem so many of us have to deal with all the time. Your work is very descriptive and detailed with some good rhyming.
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Jan Allison
Date: 2/11/2014 6:43:00 PM
Hi Robert Its just written from observation mainly in women's magazines not from my own experience. thanks for the lovely comment. Jan x
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