NOT BROKEN

We've all been affected by domestic violence one way or another.  Either you know someone who has survived it, died trying to get through it, or someone you know is silent and suffering through it right now.  It may even be you. 

According to national statistics:

One in 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime. Women experience more than 4 million physical assaults and rapes at the hands of their partnersMen are victims of nearly 3 million physical assaults.Women are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than menWomen ages 20 to 24 are at greatest risk of becoming victims of domestic violence.Every year, 1 in 3 women who is a victim of homicide is murdered by her current or former partner.Every year, more than 3 million children witness domestic violence in their homes.Children who live in homes where there is domestic violence also suffer abuse or neglect at high rates (30% to 60%).
Enough of the silence. It is time to speak up.  October is Domestic Violence Awareness month in the United States. What are you going to do about it? 

I wrote this poem to remember those who have passed away, encourage those who need to get out of volatile relationships, and remind us that we can no longer be silent.


  Not Broken
 Words kick holes in my heart Blows dent my bones,
Memories run amuck
Thoughts float unhindered
But I am Not Broken
 Promises, hopes and dreams
Dashed to pieces
By the words, by the fists
By the threats, by the shoves
But I am Not Broken
  To forget is bliss, to forget is my end
The covered bruises, the broken jaw
The forced hugs, the forced kisses
Futility in healing my hidden open wounds
But I am Not Broken
 
Today I must, for me, for mine
I shut out the dark, I look to the dawn
I brace myself, I embrace the future
For me, for mine
For I am yet Unbroken
 
Nike Campbell-Fatoki © 2013