Letters to the editor

(Dedicated to all women abused by men)
I did not wince for man to see,
Nor did I cry aloud to be heard with mockery!
My heart,
I wore not upon my sleeve for daws to peck or shred.
Yet,
Bleed it did in silent grief,
Just as Caesar,
In Rome,
Once did.
Whilst six days of week
– Evening and night -
He sat on turf with friends alike,
Who spun tales of a Vigilant King!
Whilst I sat in solitude and grief,
Awaiting nightly filth and verbal abuse.

Why should women be wedded to this -
In place of love and companionship?
Have women no right to feel provoked by what Man says or does?
Or is provocation solely the prerogative gifted to Monsters sans one rib?
Whilst women wend their way instead,
Abused,
Provoked,
Assaulted and more…
To be finally laid to rest,
With fanfare and flowers,
Sermons and song,
With memorials to follow
– Year in and year round -
To prove to the world,
Or to any who had doubt,
No greater love or sacrifice was born of this marriage,
With its vows steadfast.
For better or for worse,
“Till death do us part”,
But it’s only the women who know full well,
That “They loved not wisely – but too well”!

One night,
Alone in the thick of Lent,
On a Sabbath night,
I took the blows,
From an ill-bred monster in sheep’s clothes.
I screamed in pain and agony,
Whilst clenched fists punched repeatedly.
Dragged from bed down to floor,
I was kicked in the ribs,
And abused some more.
My cries reeked through the still of night,
But none came to see my plight.
The monster panicked and ran to the phone,
To summon a pair of so-called “friends”,
To try salvage his false image,
The façade with which he fooled the world,
And me!
He who once upon a long,
Long time,
Was only a “ Beat Cop” who walked the mile,
Yet never challenged a Man in his life,
Like he thrashed his wife that Sabbath night!

Today,
When on my bed I lie,
In vacant or in pensive mood,
Events of that dreadful night steal through the stillness of my life.
Deep down inside,
I know they will,
Haunt my life,
As long as I live.
And yet,
The menace of that night found,
And shall find me,
Unbowed and unafraid!

I am the Master of my fate!
I am the Captain of my ship!
My life,
– What’s left -
I’ll steer to shore,
And thank my God
For priceless gifts on me bestowed,
My faith in Him,
My self respect,
My dignity………
and my Unconquerable Soul!