14 Snapshots into an emotionally abusive marriage.
1.
Abuse isn't only physical.
Omissions.
Neglect.
Manipulations.
Lies.
Slicing and slashing.
Water etches,
not with power,
but patience and persistence.
Pick up your smile as you leave the house.
It sits on the table beside your keys.
Paste it to your face.
Shine the apple.
Spritz the Chanel No 5.
No one can know
But they see more than you realize.
You believe others believe his bullshit.
But most see him for who he is.
Appearances...
Appearances...
It's all about appearances.
After more than 20 years, you deserve an Emmy
Or maybe an Oscar.
Styled, colored hair.
Foundation, eyeliner, lipstick, concealer,
Concealing dark circles from lack of sleep,
Red rimmed eyes and
Worried wrinkles
Don't forget to put your smile back on the side table
as you walk in the door to the house.
House, not home.
No masks allowed inside the house.
The naked truth lives there.
********************
2.
Your 14-year-old son sneaks up behind you in the kitchen;
and
You turn the corner in the hallway to nearly bump into a co-worker;
and
Your 16-year-old daughter swings the car too wide in a curve on a two-lane road,
(very) narrowly missing the guardrail.
Add them together
And
That is anxiety.
Your thoughts kaleidoscope.
Your heart percusses.
Your chest quivers.
Your hands shake.
Your stomach writhes.
Your muscles tic.
Your gut churns.
For minutes, hours, even days...
Who knows how long it might last.
,
Perhaps it's triggered
by a memory,
by a sudden stressful event,
YOU ARE READING
Betrayed, Bruised, Broken
PoetryPoetic snapshots from inside an emotionally abusive marriage. My marriage. We were married 23 years by the time the divorce was final. During the marriage, I didn't realize how far I had been beaten down. I had no hope. After I left, I started t...
