I close my eyes when he undresses me
so tight, my whole body is numb
trying to survive, just one more moment
breathing even, my heart beating out of control
I hide within myself, become silent
when before I was social, I was happy
I fade in the background, failing grades
when just last year, I had straight A's
I put on a mask, a lie to the the world
that I am the same girl I was before he touched me
inside, I am broken, falling apart
with no where to turn, no one who I can trust
Sixteen comes and goes, just another year
Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty
my little sister comes to me, with a secret
one she promised she would not tell
"Uncle Matt, he touches me"
Those were the only words it took,
to finally open my eyes and to make me see
the secret I was hiding, gave him opportunity
I was so buried in being the victim......
That I never realized, that if he did this to me
He would probably do it again
to another little girl, helpless, without hope
she trusted me to protect her, I failed once before
I would not fail again.....
Author notes
Be An Advocate.
http://member.preventchildabuse.org/site/PageServer?pagename=adv_main
DNA Fingerpriting
http://www.childabuse.com/dnalifeprint.html
Amber Alert
http://www.amberalert.gov/
U.S. Department of Justice, project safe childhood
http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/
Polly Klaas Foundation/ Freen child safety kits
http://ga0.org/campaign/enewsletter_child_safety_kit
There are so many children, who are being abused, in their homes, by people they trust to keep them safe, by strangers, by teachers, by priests... It is a shame that anyone would want to hurt a child, but it is happening and without education for our children, giving them the tools to know that even if the person abusing them says if they tell (something bad will happen), that they can tell us, that we will believe them and that we will take action to keep them safe.
Children who are victimized should know that if they dont tell, then the same bad thing might happen to other children. That it is okay to tell. Even if we couldnt keep it from happening, we can keep it from happening again, we can keep it from happening, to another child.
I would probably target this at children 8-16. It is probably a little too graphic for younger children, but for older children, it has a message they can understand. I think even if it hurts us, we should be honest with our children, it is the only way to help them protect themselves against people who want to make them a victim.
Thank you for the oppertunity to write about something that is so important.
In a list
A contest entry
- Save A Life! Teach Our Children To Say No!!! {Child Abuse Prevention Contest} by Viyanna Rosemarie.
1200 points, ended May 1, 2007, 8 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 7 of 7
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You stood tall, spoke up, and made a difference. I know this suffering and to survive is never enough. We must overcome! The overcoming occurs when we help someone else. You've done that! This poem is all too real to me. It shakes the memory and makes me want to hurt all the no good bastards that hurt children. It's a sickness that must be attended to. Not speaking on it perpetuates the ill of it all. An excellent writ dear sister/angel/friend. I truly hope this helps someone else. It surely helped me.
Much Love ♥
Renee
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You sing the song of my heart Renee.
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Congulations on the bronze trophy .
A powerful write here . I had tears in my eyes . Yes we do need to speak up for the children . I wasa vitim and had no one to turn to when it happen to me . Now years later I am trying to deal with it -
wow! that is all i can say. wow! thank you for your entry and for the links you have provided. good luck in this contest. viyanna rosemarie
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Thank you Viyanna. I think this contest was one with merit. Too often, children are the silent victims and you helped to give those children a voice.
Kutos to you!!!!
Criss
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Oh My God... i tell you with tears falling from my eyes... this is amazing.... well done on the write and for the eye opener that you went through... i pray it was enough to put a stop to it... my thoughts go out to you
regards
Jen
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Jen,
Thank you for your comment. This is not my story. It is however, probably the story of many young girls out there. I wrote this for a contest on speaking out and helping our children know that they can trust us if someone is abusing them. I was a victim of a horrible situation like this though, and I think that if I would have told someone, maybe he wouldnt have had the chance to do it to someone else. I just think that our kids need to have the POWER to say no and the rational to know that just because a threat is put in place after the abuse, that, that should not stop them from telling, they should be confident to know that we will protect them from the abuser and that it is always okay to tell, ya know?
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