Best Domestic Abuse Poems
I know its hard to imagine now
But some day you’ll be the key and not the lock
The exception not the rule
Some day you’ll be a source of strength to others
Even though today you feel so weak
You’ll be a voice amongst the starlight
And they will listen when you speak
I know it's hard to imagine now
When you’re feeling broken & so small
But one day you’ll be a mountain
And your pain will be worth it all
~ Louise Simpson
Under layers of pain wrapped in the hurt,
Under betrayal hidden from sight,
Pinned to her heart that’s broken and black,
Pinned to a feeling of spite,
She walks and stumbles and falls to the ground,
Naked she’s dazed, she’s stunned,
But her body no longer feels anything,
Her body’s emotionally numbed,
From all of the years of walk the thin line,
Domestically handcuffed to this beast,
Her mind was a toy for his psychotic games,
A game where her mind was the feast,
Now all she does is stumble and fall,
Bleeding her mental farewell,
Existing in a tragic life that has gone,
Living a life full of hell.
Murdered me with your love
Murdered me with your lies
I could see the rage when I looked into your eyes
You told me that you loved me
but I just wanted to leave.
"Why can't you just be happy" you ask
While pushing me to my knees
Always playing the victim
You're good at playing that game
Lies of mistreatment; lies and untruths
All I ever wanted was away from your abuse.
That night I planned to leave
That night my plan was perfect
But you found out and rallied your crew
You said I couldn't leave, you said we weren't through
I managed to escape you
And locked myself in a room
But you had other plans
And I knew my fate was doomed
You pryed open my door
And I tried to keep it shut
But your crew breached the second entry
And I knew my time was up
You stood behind the gun;
You pointed it in my direction
You pulled the trigger;
And took my life
You took it with just one finger
You claimed my death was suicide
But we both know the truth
You continue to play the victim
But now they're on to you!
Written By: Kristin Bordelon
the children are crying
again there's trouble in the house
their mother's in the corner all bloodied
and cowering like a mouse
the father, the husband
who calls himself the king
seems to only dispense verbal abuse
and violent beatings
the police have been called
but she won't have him arrested
she thinks her faith, beliefs
and vows are being tested
her friends can't understand why
she won't just get away
her family is praying that
he won't kill her some day
domestic abuse seems to be on the up-rise
yet society always seems to be shocked and surprised
you'll hear people say, "they seem like a very nice couple"
but behind those closed doors there's nothing but violent struggles
the children are always looking neat on their way to school
they seem very shy and the mother acts somewhat cool
but inside that house no one really has a clue
of the level of domestic violence and abuse
I am not a door mat to walk over every day,
I am not an object you can use and put away.
I am not some one just to benefit your self,
I am not a bank machine to help you with your wealth.
You say you love me but you hit me when your mad,
I want to be happy but you just make me sad.
You use me as a punch bag when nothing goes your way,
Your always shouting in my face I never have my say.
You keep me from my family take away my phone,
You say I should be grateful I'm living in your home.
I am a human you can't treat me this way,
You were supposed to love me not hit me every day.
Not call me names or take away my phone,
or keep me from my family making me alone.
I got the strength to tell you I'm leaving you today,
You start saying sorry and begging me to stay.
You stood there in my way blocking that front door,
I'm not fooling for it again I have heard the sorry before.
I look in the mirror see my two black eyes,
Why did I put up with this? it's time to say my goodbyes.
you raised your fist to punch me and hit me in the head,
but I pushed you away with all my strength and walk out that door instead.
I was the man of the house, the house all alone,
Alone in the hills of the crippled gum trees.
It was a hundred years old, an original, no heating nor cooling,
Cooked in summer and in winter we’d freeze.
My 6 foot step son, built like a tank, detesting me,
And, at 15, he never talked much.
He seemed socially wooden, no comprehension,
Pulling away from his own mother’s touch.
One day I returned after a day of fake proud,
Finding all of the windows shattered, smashed.
The doors were all splintered, punch marks in the walls,
Every room had been perfectly trashed.
This was the start of 8 months of hell,
Nothing I did changed his attitude, head space or his rage.
I was covered in petrol, attacked with a butcher’s knife and a chainsaw,
I was living chained to the side of a cage.
Why did I go through this for so long?
Because I loved the love of his mum.
But why did I care about this love so much?
Because my previous marriage had been numb.
And why did I not like feeling so numb?
I hated being a spectator and watching my peers.
I hated being a spectator, why? I asked,
I wanted to feel again through happiness and tears.
Yep, there’s other drama to domestic violence
For a topic not often talked about.
Of course he was doing meth and other drugs,
It was 24 hours later that he’d black out.
So I was nearly killed often and didn’t leave home,
For one very greedy and selfish ideal.
I loved the fear of pain and fear of suffering,
It was my angst, dread and horror that I’d feel.
Entered into "Reality" contest by Nayda Ivette Negron 6/17/2016, ranked First place
You put your fist into my side,
And your hand over my face,
I can no longer hide,
Not being able to breath or taste,
Your eyes raged in terror,
I don’t know what to do
You don’t seem to be here,
You've turned me into such a fool
Why would you hurt me?
You said it would end,
Why would you hit me?
I couldn't even defend.
There’s no tears left to cry,
All you did was cheat and lie,
Left me broken at the door,
My heart left ripped and tour,
You thought you broke me,
And i just couldn’t see,
How badly you beat me,
and how you abused my body,
Although time helps and heals,
I now no how it feels, to truly suffer,
At the hands of my lover,
The burden i carry to fear another,
Now I have freed myself from you,
It’s easy to see what was truly true,
I was never good enough, you made do,
I wish that i knew, or even had a clue,
All i did was love you, I’m such a fool,
You were a monster, who was so cruel,
You punished me for wanting you,
You said our love was meant to be true,
You left me shattered on the floor,
Discarded, just like a cheap whore,
Unable to face this world anymore,
Unable to find anything to live for,
Your torture was addictive,
But It was the attention i needed,
So i tried and tried to get my fix of it,
Now i see you were such a hypocrite,
My heart beated with belief in you,
I deeply desired this love so true,
The pain deep inside is still raw,
It lingers on in my every pour,
But you cannot win this war,
Ive ended it and slammed that door,
You will not scare me as you did before,
You will end up alone forever more,
You taught me so much its true,
I’m a better person because of you,
So for that i must say thank you,
Im confident you’ll get karmas due,
You stole my identity, who i was, its true,
I became a shell of the girl i once knew,
I have survived your torturous games,
And endured all your inflicted pains
I survived i am not your victim,
Cursed by your vindictive criticism,
This fight is far from being done,
However my new life has just begun.
They say are you a man or mouse
feel that I have no say in my house,
I feel so alone I'm just a recluse
How long can I take this abuse,
It started with words and nagging
Then I heard her, to her friend bragging,
those words then turned to physical
Now my whole body looks quite pitiful,
As a gentleman who can I turn to
No one believes I'm beaten can't be true,
She is my life I still love her so much
Surely It's not my fault that I'm not butch,
I gave up everything even my best friend
oh when will this hell ever end.
Domestic abuse is about abusing women
Women don't act this way against us men,
I live in fear walk on eggshells frightened
I've got to find a way to make this end,
Living like this alone afraid of my wife
Perhaps to end this is to take my own life.
Abused.
Mistreated and used,
Thrown to your knees,
After being misused.
Plead.
Make yourself bleed,
Just numb the pain,
Wait for her to succeed.
Lies.
Your dignity dies,
Lying in wait,
As you say your goodbyes.
Quake.
Don't let yourself wake,
At the end of this all,
Your life she will take.
Too late.
You had your first date,
Now she runs the course,
Someone else will be bait.
Raped.
Lies against you, draped,
She did what she did,
But it's you they had taped.
Twist.
She twists your wrist,
Things she had done,
You did, she'd insist.
Friend.
Your friends help you mend,
Your family don't,
Not a hand they will lend.
Disgust.
Lost your will to trust,
After all she did,
You're left to rust.
My weaknesses kill me as they are amplified
With painful memories I want to hide
I endured your wrong doing that never did rightl
By me while I stayed faithful by your side
Accused of things you did and lied
About everything and selfishly tried
Taking what you could of anything mine
Losing to you while the old me died
I was a glutton for punishment needing suicide
Sickeningly full from swallowing pride
Despite how many times you made me cry
Giving into what I thought I wanted mine
A fantasy that trapped me with my hands tied
With willingness to work through the fight
Being together, when all we did was collide
I allowed you too much space in my mind
I will never go back or press rewind
Back to us with me trying to hide
From what seemed like endless slowing of time
Anguished with heartache I took in stride
Closer to my limit with every crossed line
You tried to break me into your design
Convinced I was not already a dime
In reality you wanted me obliviously blind
Like you were to everything keeping you alive
Now only flesh of all things unforgettably unkind
To everything in me that brings to light
Unconditional love you had by your side
Now a hate that wishes you would have just died
If I didn't smile so much
Invisible I would have stayed
Instead, he chose me to be
A pawn in the game he played
If I wasn't as strong as I was
Then I wouldn't have been all alone
If my skin was more sensitive
Then the bruises would have shown
If I didn't have these color eyes
His favorite blue like the sea
He maybe would have picked someone
Anyone other than me
Maybe if I explained my words better
So, people would understand how I felt
Strategically I began to play each move
With the hand that I was dealt
I knew how this game would end
And it was winner-takes-all
He placed the first bid
I soon followed with a call
I wasn't going to go down easy
I was going to make it tough
He soon realized this
The moment I called his bluff
The game lasted so long
And I hoped he couldn't tell
Full of fear I was sitting
I made sure I hid it well
Finally, a stroke of luck
I took a chance with no plan
I hoped my cards were better
Then the ones held in his hand
Little to no chips left
I was forced to go all in
Thinking that he had me
I showed my cards for the win
I made it out alive
The memories I can't erase
The game I'm always reminded of
By the scar upon my face
I suffered in silence
But could never hide the pain
From the marks on my face
To walking home in the rain
Everyday I tried to be perfect
But it did me no good
Everything I did was wrong
Which I misunderstood
The cuts and bruises healed
But inside they did not
Even though I’m not in that room
My heart never forgot
The helplessness you feel
It’s hard to explain
But you lose something inside you
And you never are the same
I hoped someone noticed
Just one person to care
But when I looked up for help
No one was ever there
“In 70 -80% of intimate partner homicides, no matter which partner is killed, the man physically abused the woman before the murder” - National Institute of Justice, 2003
raped, stalked or beaten -
a roll of the gender dice . . .
homicide happens
Sept. 3, 2019
Title and senryu inspired by Alice Cooper’s “Only Women Bleed” (one of the few songs of his I really like)
The cavern breathes.
Its walls slick with time, with damp, with secrets.
It has seen centuries of footsteps,
but tonight, it watches.
Above, the sky stretches wide—
galaxies shifting, burning,
too far, too indifferent
to witness what he has done.
She is beneath him.
Was beneath him.
Her breath stolen, her body cooling,
the fight long gone from her limbs.
He had taken what he wanted.
More than that.
Everything.
Now, only the cavern knows.
His hands, trembling now, touch the stone.
His chest heaves.
Guilt? Regret?
No—something deeper, something worse.
And then, he screams.
The sound rips through the cavern,
tearing against rock,
splitting the silence open
like a wound.
The walls tremble.
The ground shifts.
The cavern awakens.
For a breath, it grieves.
For a breath, it remembers her.
Then, it judges.
The air thickens.
The trembling stops.
His voice is taken,
flung into the void,
cast to the stars
never to return.
This is his punishment.
Not death.
Not solitude.
But silence.
The last tether to her,
severed.
Once, she pressed her palm to his chest.
Felt the hum of breath.
The warmth of skin.
The pulse of something real.
Now—nothing.
The cavern swallows the last echo.
Above, the universe turns on,
uncaring.
And the stars—
they do not grieve for him.
Reflection:
This poem is about justice—true, raw justice. The kind that human hands often fail to deliver. He took everything from her, stripping her of dignity, of breath, of life itself. But the world, the universe, does not punish men like him. They walk free, justified by excuses, shielded by silence.
But the cavern does not forget. It listens. It knows what he has done. And so, in a world where men take and walk away unscathed, the cavern becomes the reckoning. It takes the only thing left to take—his voice, his ability to be heard, his existence as something that matters. It does what the world refuses to do.
His punishment is not death. That would be too simple, too kind. Instead, he is erased, left in a silence that mirrors the silence he forced upon her. A silence that echoes forever, but never back to him.
And the stars? The universe? They do not grieve. Because this was never about them.
This is about her.