THE SAGE'S DeCLASSIFIED SURVIVAL GUIDE (FOR DUDES AND DUDETTES)

The Curse Of The Purple Ribbon

she was one of the few
and most unfortunate
to bear the curse of the
purple ribbon
removing it would result
in treachery, more abuse or
even certain death
scared she lived in fear, hate
and regret
even to talk about it or so
much utter even a single word
of it was blasphemy and
would be thwarted by the
spell that reigned upon it
rained bruises, broken nails,
bloody tears and a
battered face, this was unlike
any fairy tale she once read
about in the books as a kid
this was a horror come to
life in the most awful kind of way
her home was a cage for her body
and in her depression her body came
to feel like a cage for her soul
she grew shattered with
everyday that passed, was battered
with every night that came
and expected to play all happy
when the neighbours came around
but how do you do that?!
how?!
how do you take a sip of brandy
to draw out the last bits of your strength
and live a lie for the public eye
for a few hours, hiding the pain
yet when they turn their backs the
horror then comes back to play
flooding in like water rushing into
a sinking ship
how?!
when in just a few mere seconds
your face is shoved into stainless
steel over and over again
until your blood is splattered over
the walls, floors and high-end gadgets
how?!
do you live in such an environment
freely knowing that you're just
nothing but a target
but see what you don't know
is that
what hurts worse is the insecurity,
the internal brokenness that only
a person exposed to abuse can
experience
it's like those mental scars are a
tapering factor in the serenity
of domestic life
they cause agony that can
only be seen on the inside
a pain that no one else sees
but I guess that's the
price you gotta pay for
being silent
for sticking around through
the pain and violence
the kids Boikhutso, the kids
they ain't gonna have no dad
if you leave, this cycle ain't gon
end if you flee, what is it you gon
feed the kids, how you gon clothe
them, but stick around and Kagiso might
just end up like his dad, knowing
that is okay to lift his hand to a woman,
and what about Lebogang, she gon grow
up not knowing what to look for in
a man, the kids gon grow up as
broken shells of the people they can
only ever wish to be
what about the families and public,
flee and the past is gonna come
back creeping in, you're never gonna
truly be free, you speak out
and you die, keep quite to stay alive
and the abuse worsens bearing
questions and outcomes that have
an eternal hold over you, a price
you gotta pay for being silent
the curse of the purple ribbon