ABUSED AND BROKEN
Sherrie Ann Benedict 1982 (Iowa)
Hey World, do I have a message for you
I've been getting beat down by humanity since the early age of two
I've seen things that have rarely been witnessed by man
I lived through a pain 90 percent of you will never understand
So I'm gonna tell you a few things you outta know
A bit explicit, but here it is, pay attention as I go
First thing I remember as a young kid
Is all the abusive things that my family did
A sister beaten right in front of my eyes; nose bleeding
Couldn't stand in that corner all night we kept pleading
"You're just as evil as your mother is," an Aunt said as she struck us with whatever
An Aunt beating my little brother for no reason til she cost him one kidney forever
"Please stop!" "I hate you!", she heard my small voice say
Turning to me, causing injuries, and DCFS turned their backs anyway!
Bare foot; hot sun; picking thorns from the land; not allowed a drink
Caged for punishment; starved and broken; death always on the brink
I hate you; I love you; then I hate you again
Stupid, worthless, ugly; just a few of the names where some problems began
Trafficked for drugs at the hands of someone I trusted
Too young to understand, but somehow forcibly adjusted
Two weeks no food; stuck in bed every single day
The workers even ignored you when you begged them not to make you stay
They seemed to make everyone like them as we withered away
The system failed us over and over, that's when we started to pray
Day after my birthday in 1993
A new worker showed up, to finally set us free
But our journey for love and a family to call our own
Only got us passed around between 9 different homes
At one foster home, my therapist took me from school
On our way back to town, he tried to molest me; I was barely 12; I thought the world was so cruel
Through this all, I graduated with a purpose of success
Some how my family found me; and well, you all can guess the rest
They took away my hopes I had worked so hard to find
They denied their abuses causing me to lose my mind
How does an uncle rape his own sons; molest his niece!?
And your mother is living with him in an undeserving peace?!!
Found a way to start to trust; made what I thought to be friends
Raped again; back-stabbed; turned on me in the end
Every human who's ever come near me seemed to rip my soul apart
Not a feeling any of you ever want to feel in your heart
Scared; confused; unsure where to turn
So I decided to set fire to a jeep to burn
The owner needed it to happen, and I needed a safe place
Jail sounded much better then the death that was starring me in my face
Three and half years in prison for committing an arson crime
The abuse we endured by guards has been kept quiet since beginning of time
Told I was getting another chance at life
But the community I was brought to has caused me so much strife
Whispers echo of stories untrue
Minding my own business but smart people are only a few
Abusive boyfriends who tried to beat me down
Although weary and broken-hearted, the world must go 'round
Gave my first born a family to protect him from this world; I had no choice
A baby boy so beautiful and fragile; mommy's first feeling of true love, but I had to be his voice
The system failed me, but I knew with this decision; I did not go wrong
If I had, would it be added so perfectly into this song!?
About this poem
This poem is not in order of events and was written at a time of mental health despair when they claim we aren't able to cope with our feelings without destruction to follow. So to prove statistics wrong, I wrote this during a manic episode with my struggles with mental illness without knowing what I was even writing. Just wrote what was causing my suicidal thoughts are that exactly moment and this is what followed:
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Written on February 02, 2021
Submitted by sherriebenedict1982 on September 09, 2021
- 3:17 min read
- 58 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABCDDEEFFGGHHIIJBEKHHHHLMNOPQRSTTUUVWXXYYZZ1 1 2 2 AA3 4 5 5 6 6 |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 3,281 |
Words | 651 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 56 |
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"ABUSED AND BROKEN" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 29 Mar. 2023. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/109115/abused-and-broken>.
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