Don't hit me again daddy

Child Abuse

My small hands crack

As I use them

To cover my head and face;

the thin belt is much worse

than the thick - 

it whips more and leaves deeper welts

Funny how my mind

takes off - leaving me behind

I think of how my body will

look with the new 'stripes'

I pretend I'm a tiger 

in the mirror - when 

the swelling goes down

and I wear my pain

for only me to see...

Author's Note

Imagine this.
Tear it up.

Reviews

[Zoya]

Painful to even read...
It's not an easy task to leave the reader teary-eyed, only after making them read I guess a poem of about 10-12 lines. You did that easily, or maybe not so easily, idk. Whatever it is, this poem is quite heartbreaking. Thanks for sharing.

[Tony Jordan]

Thank you for your words Zoe.

[Zoya]

no problem

[Enigma Monster]

Hard to imagine, but written so well it makes it kind of easy. Powerful poem Tony.

[Tony Jordan]

Hard to recall - so long ago - it's almost like it happened to someone else.
Thank you E.M.
Great to see you !
:)

[barleygirl]

Having had an abusive father, I understand this message well. You've definitely expressed the way it can feel from a child's point of view & also using very original ideas & expressions, such as the tiger stripes which are sparsely referred to here, but the imagery that conjures up is vivid & extensive. Great job planting the images in the reader's mind. (Sorry I've been gone from this website awhile . . . I've missed reading you!)

[Tony Jordan]

Great to see you back BG :))
Its so sad that so many can relate personally to this...

Thanks for the rad review my friend :))

[barleygirl]

I know what you mean . . . whenever I speak of my childhood abuse, there's always someone nearby who's also lived thru similar stuff. So sad that it's so prevalent! Thanks for the welcome-back! (((HUGS)))

[Poetic License]

Oh, my friend. I can see it, hear it, feel it, taste it. This is such all powerful poem. It is simple, it is so straight forward - until the end.

"and I wear my pain
for only me to see..."

This struck me right between the ribs. These words speak of the depth of abuse, the pain that lingers long after bruises fade, cuts heal, voices quiet. In my case, this was when the abuse truly began. Hide it wisely. If no one else can see it, it never really happened. If it never really happened, then I can be happy. I will hide and I will be happy.

Man, you absolutely tore me apart with this poem. Way too much to stuff into those lines, my friend. Thank you sharing it. It is hard to read, and I know, even harder to share.

[Shaded_Demon]

Awesome! It's just amazing! Keep working at it!

[Tony Jordan]

Thank you Shaded_Demon
(great avatar by the way)

[Pete]

unfortunately, i can relate all too well. don't know what else to say. i hate what life does to us ...

[Tony Jordan]

Nothing need be said Pete.
Thank you very much for reviewing this one.

[MsJewel]

I will never understand how someone could hit a child. The way you told this story, from the child, with his tiger stripes, just tears at the heart strings. Powerful writing Tony. Your words are haunting Julie

[Tony Jordan]

I guess it could have been much worse Julie - at least I'm here to recall it - hard as it is to do so.
Thank you for your kind words.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i got the belt when i was a kid...but it was used wisely and only for real discipline purposes, not abuse...those who abuse their children...and there is a difference between, i believe...they are guilty of worse than murder.
powerful write, Tony.
j.

[Tony Jordan]

I got the strap at school and I understood the difference even then.
Thank you Jacob

[Nigel Newman]

Wow! Not sure what to say Tony other than Bravo! Desperate, but well written.

[Tony Jordan]

Desperate times...etc
Thank you for your admiration Nigel.

[Lydia Shutter]

Oh, this is absolutely tragic. Written from the standpoint of the abuses child. The words sting almost as the belt would. Powerful poetry, Tony. Lydi**

[Tony Jordan]

Thank you Lydia - I appreciate you.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

You capture the isolation of such things Tony as the child only has an inner world to take refuge in. The atmosphere you have created in this brutal, stark open verse is really excellent.

[Tony Jordan]

Gifts (bribes) were usually forthcoming - later.
Thank you John - you understand.

[Skib]

Usually the actions of a guilty mind! As though money and material items would be enough to wash himself free of those actions.
Sorry for chiming in on a review. I'm sure you already know that we have shared a similar past and to me actions like that are unforgivable. Mr. McFayden was right in his review. This piece was able to break a part of me which I thought was already shattered, which can only be a good thing right? Brilliantly portrayed yet wrought with melancholy. Thanks for the read but i'm sorry for its inspiration.

Skib.

[Tony Jordan]

Thats how I understand it Skib all these years later. At the time I was easily bought lol.
Thank you. Im sorry if it reopened those wounds.

[Skib]

Children usually are. Which makes the manipulation even more of a violation of your innocence. You are welcome and not at all, you only wrote this and didn't in anyway make me read it. The title is self explanatory so I knew what I was letting myself in for lol.
Thanks for the read.

Wishing you a chocolate-filled Easter!! (who says the Easter period is just for kids?) :p haha

Wishing you the best :)

[Tony Jordan]

I never thought of that Skib.
I already put away the weeks, no the month's quota of chocolate just this afternoon.
All the hairy chest sir. :D

[Skib]

Hahaha. *Raises Chocolate Egg* Cheers to a happy life. :p

[Tony Jordan]

Haha - Slainte Skib... :DD