-When you held me down against my will
-When the stench of alcohol on your breath was overpowering
-When you pushed my back against the stairs so hard I saw stars
-When your contorted face had the look of pure hate
-When you forced me with your hands to look at you
-When the act was about hurting, not loving
-When I was too scared to fight back
-When your intent was to steal my soul
-When you were done taking, you walked out the door
Even
-When you were my husband
When
When was it rape?

I feel the need to offer some perspective on some recent posts. My posts are usually about the wonders of nature, introspection or humor. Humor has been the greatest coping tool in my life. The poems: “If Looks Could Kill”, “Cover Up” and “When Was It?” were about incidents that occurred in my first marriage and they were no laughing matter. The man I am married to now would never hurt me. I pushed these traumatic memories down and recently felt they were negatively impacting my life. I needed to give them a voice in order to be free of them. I appreciate those that understand and listen. I can’t promise I won’t ever go dark again but I am done with this topic and want to return to what I really love to do with verse and photos.

My demons rattle
Their rusty tightly locked cage
Time to set them free