Trigger warning: if you are a survivor of any kind of abuse, please make sure you are far enough along in your healing before reading this. Otherwise, I strongly advise you not to. I wrote this to call attention to how society treats domestic abuse survivors whose partners never left physical bruises or \"proof\". If you\'re reading this, I kindly ask that you consider making a donation to a domestic violence organization. Again, please make sure you are mentally in a healthy place to read this...
You hit me like an ocean storm
Violent waves crashing
Pulling me under
Can’t seem to get my head above water
Chaos and destruction walk hand in hand
The shaky foundation
We might have had
Now lost in the wreckage of your storm
And who am I
To pick up the pieces
Gasping for air
Between holding my breath
Bit by bit, slowly
Losing more of myself
But the ocean taught me how to love
The taste of salt
And metallic
As I bite through my lip
Hard enough that I bleed
Again and again
For some semblance of peace
Told to swallow my pride
When I tried to speak up
Gaslit to fear saying
Enough is enough
By a society that primes us
To fawn and to freeze
To avoid confrontation
And just people please
The magazines
They tell you
Be flawless
And sexy
We exist to please men
The conditioning starts early
Like don’t make a fuss
He’s only mean \'cause he likes you
And don’t cause a scene
How unladylike of you
Just an object
Some eye candy
My God you\'re so hot
Your legs are so nice
My opinions matter not
And then there was you
Laid all my cards on the table
Showed you my scars
And still you were able
To act like I owed you
Like I was the problem
Left to pick up the pieces
And they asked why I stayed
Why I didn\'t report
Like I had somewhere to go
And you never used force
Your attorney
The judges
Used my trauma against me
Like it wasn’t that bad
Since you never did hit me.