************************************Denial covers the pain of the past * A blanket over the world * Lift a corner * Don't be afraid * Your life awaits you*************************************

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Invitation

In the girl’s bathroom
With the lock in place
Excitement belies the tragic

Rescued from a puddle
Smudged, stained and streaked
Damaged, but made of magic

In large, round letters
Another girl’s name
Things rarely go as planned

With eyes closed tight
Imagine the right name
Blue on white, in a careful hand

Under the sticky flap
Cartoon princess waves
A glorious pink and white dream

Icon of acceptance
You are invited!
Throat aches a private scream

One more exclamation
I hope you can come!
Inside ricochets Not you!


Shred the envelope
Deep scratches in skin
Reinventing what is true

The evidence gone
Re-pocket the prize
And unlock the bathroom door

While deceitful mirrors
Reflect a standard child
Fears and flaws stand on the tile floor



It's a part of childhood abuse and neglect that often goes unseen, or at least unmentioned. When things are so wrong at home, it's as if there is a mark left on us that everyone can see. We are different. We are separate. We are not accepted by our peers, not included in the normal rights of passage and made to feel even more alone.

The shyness and introverted behavior we exhibit labels us as different. Those we meet sense this and their reaction is to back off, at the least - or to add to the harm with further abuse in the form of teasing, mocking and bullying. In turn, this reaction from others reinforces the notion that the flaw is within us - that we are the ones who were at fault all along.

It isn't true. It was never true. I was not flawed and deserving of abuse, and neither were you. 


6 comments:

  1. Shen, I hope that this acknowledgement helps with the memories you've been struggling with.

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  2. Hi Shen,

    This was very powerful, and I could definitely relate to those feelings. Thanks for sharing, and for he encouraging words.

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  3. I wasn't teased or made fun of at school. I was just left alone with my lonliness and sadness. This post has me crying because it brought up those feelings. Not only lonliness but also the fear that someone would see that I was used, damaged goods, that I was bad and was the cause of my own abuse. I was so shy and quiet because I was afraid to draw attention to myself because so much of the attention that I got was of a sexual nature at home. Thanks for sharing this.

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  4. Thank you so much for sharing this with the blog carnival against child abuse.

    As a child, I was so introverted, and unsure about social situations. I was also in denial about the abuse for a long time. This had me in tears, because as an adult, when I started being honest with myself about he abuse, I would look back at my childhood and the social issues that I had and turn the fault onto myself....but I do not deserve that blame, because I was not flawed or wrong or bad.

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  5. I haven't been receiving all the notifications of comments. I'm not sure if any of you will see this now, but I really appreciate all the comments to this post, in particular. I needed this.

    I am not alone.

    Thank you

    ReplyDelete

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Co Creation

Co Creation
We create the life we live

Love your inner child...

...for she holds the key...

...to your personal power.
A lesson is woven into each day.
Together they make up the tapestries of our lives.
~Shen