Subway Bruises

7:35 am
I see her on the subway

every day sitting

in the same seat
to my left as I stand.

Her cheek
blemished,
Her collarbone
bruised,
she stares~
eyes aiming to the hell
she must live in.

Often, I watch her
and imagine myself lifting her head.
Saying softly,
"Your eyes should be lifted
to the heaven, from which you came..."

I wish that I could rescue her from
those tears she holds back.
Secretly, I cry for her~
a stranger...

 

How can I not cry?

Her body is marked up

Like the subway she rides on.

Like a rose with thorns turning

Like ingrown hairs.

She is still beautiful, but

Doesn’t know it yet and

I don’t know her.

 

 

 I see her life story unfolding.

Words are faded,
the edges of the book
tattered and torn.
The physical abuse received
Will never equal the mental.

 
Her stop is approaching
and before she exits the train
She glances at me and smiles
like she does everyday.
Maybe she knows
what I'm thinking.
Just maybe.

 

The days pass and

I haven’t seen her

On the train and I

Pray she’s found

Her way out.

Death doesn’t normally

Knock on subway trains.

I hope are unspoken

Eye contact is the visual

She uses to deal with those

subway bruises.

Reviews

[bluessadmood]

nice ,we human feel others even by the looks ,if we suffer deep,we feel others even more ,its all sufferings ,sends you back inside yourself ,you mirrorise yourself,and see others in that same mirror ,humans are bsically built ,of the same clay ,so we feel the same feelings

[Deborah Leah Krempa]

A very powerful message is conveyed in this poem. There is simply no excuse for abuse. Too often people can see it yet choose to look the other way. This poem speaks of deep compassion for another human being. Well written. Thank you for sharing. Debileah

[Fear Corrupts!]

Hmm.
Well, wow- this is really well done.
You capture the reader's attention from the very first stanza,
pulling the reader into the story with a great mood setting & imagery.
I just happened to come across this piece, & abnormally got sucked into it.

I'm just wondering what inspired you to write about this?
Hmm.
Well I guess that it's not really important, I'm just glad that you shared this with us.

[ Fear Corrupts! ]

[Clarisse Nanoit]

AMAZING. That's all I can say. I'll probably read this 10 more times just tonight. Very touching. I love it.
KH

[Beka]

This is amazing.
It grabbed me from the start and just kept going.
I love how she always smiles.
Makes me think that not only does she know
but it makes her very happy to know that someone thinks of her in such a way.
Very powerful.

[Hedra Helix]

I know realistically
that is UNlikely to change,

[Hedra Helix]

So cool, I love that it's a complete story and that your inner wishes were clearly revealed;) so that we could see her and yourself through your eyes, great mirror in the writing.

IMHO just a couple ideas to look at:

Swelling from anger, I look away~
because no women on God's earth
should be (so)demoralized.

[Princess_ck84]

Thank you! This is gorgeously written and I love it.

"she stares~
eyes aiming to the hell
she must live in."

really grabs me especially followed with:

"Often, I watch her
and imagine myself lifting her head.
Saying softly,
"Your eyes should be lifted
to the heaven, from which you came...""

I've often felt similarly in similar situations. Thank you for sharing :)