seeing stars on the way down
knocked flat
no warning.
i wasn’t really hungry anyway.
physical abuse
is preceded
by insidious, biting ridicule
that quietly erodes the ego necessary
for self-preservation.
contempt and scorn
are the daily bread of the dis-loved woman
she can not complain
she has no one left to listen
eventually she capitulates
at last believing
that abuse is what she deserves.
i have come to believe
that the abuser loves the challenge
of besting a strong woman.
i was not so much battered,
as conquered.
if i had only read
The Taming of the Shrew
instead of Romeo and Juliet
i might have been
at least
forewarned.
beware the charming man
(c) 2020 BGeiger
