He Didn't Mean It

 

A small bruise on her cheek, covered with a little foundation,

“It was a onetime thing,” she says with determination.

 

“He would never hurt me.” She tells her friends with certainty.

Little does she know he’ll come home just a little too angry.

 

She continues to make unbelievable excuses,

Like, “I fell down the stairs,” or “I dropped my glasses.”

 

His behavior rapidly starts to get worse

That small bruise on her cheek has now been dispersed.

 

Her body covered in wounds from head to toe,

He only buys her makeup so no one will know.

 

“I’m sorry, I love you.” He always says after,

And for some reason she believes the fake actor.

 

“Where have you been?” he friends would worry.

But she’d brush it off and say, “I’m sorry.”

 

They all knew the things going on in her house,

But they didn’t know how to help her get out.

 

 

“He doesn’t mean it, he loves me.” She’d defend her abuser.

Her friends were afraid; she was sinking like an anchor.

 

Not too long after was her admission to the hospital,

They said an accident caused the fracture to her skull.

 

Her loved ones tried to make her see some kind of reason,

But she only shook her head and said, “Too much bourbon.”

 

A couple weeks later, she was back in his clutches.

A few doses of morphine couldn’t soften the touches.

 

“You bitch!” he’d yell, blaming her for the injury.

“If you had just taken it instead of trying to fight me!”

 

So she took it, just as he told her,

Still somehow loving him through all of the blur.

.

But, it was soon apparent that something was wrong,

She was nauseas and couldn’t hear for very long.

 

It was the day her nose and eyes began to bleed,

That she realized the fracture had planted a seed.

 

The fracture managed to take more than a fraction,

She died that week and was laid in her coffin.

 

Her grave unfortunately bore his last name,

But sadly, for her death, he was never blamed.

Comments

Maritza Ruby Altamirano

Wow...very powerful.

Additional Resources

Get AI Feedback on your poem

Interested in feedback on your poem? Try our AI Feedback tool.
 

 

If You Need Support

If you ever need help or support, we trust CrisisTextline.org for people dealing with depression. Text HOME to 741741