In their confinement,
they wonder why they are there,
but the gray washed walls give no clue.
Many other whys lie scattered
on the horizon of their minds
like puffs of smoke
that have escaped the flue,
they spread across the sky
beyond a searching eye's view
before they dissipate into
denial.
They think they are not sick.
They never sexually abused.
They never killed tiny creatures
or set fires in their homes,
unless it needed to be done
for some reason unknown.
When Elizabeth was taken from her home,
victimized again and again,
her captor thought he was helping God
when he forced himself on her
and made her cry.
Her tears fell into the snow inside his head,
disappeared as they froze into the cold wet bed.
John Wayne Gacy was so much fun,
the children loved him as a clown,
but when he took the makeup off
he became a predator who killed them
each, one by one.
But he loved them all so much.
Hey, you will do it for me if you love me,
I will kill your mother if you don’t,
everyone will hate you when I tell them
just what you’ve done.
It won’t hurt you, you will like it,
no one will ever know,
all I want to do is feel your
five year old womb,
your eight year old bone.
There is nothing wrong with that.
So the child acquiesced.
Each one severs his connection
to rational contemplation of his acts.
I’m not sick, I’m not.
It was innocent and loving.
I never forced anyone, it was what they wanted.
Why am I in this place with all these perverts?
I’m not one of them.
I never hurt anyone...
Echoes, echoes
off the blank walls of their rooms.
Author notes
I was working in a mental health hospital with teen aged sex offenders. I have seen it up close and fear that children will always be victims of sickened minds. People need to be reminded so they will be better prepared to protect their children.
Written November 16th, 2003
In a list
A contest entry
- Children by dp robertson.
550 points, ended January 6, 2004, 55 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - truth and dare (ie poetry is so much more than just poetic devices) by Dienush.
600 points, ended May 18, 2008, 30 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 25 of 25
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So touching.
You make your point clear and I especially like the snow image and the message behind this.
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When You called "He Loved Them All So Much" touching, I wondered if you actually read my author notes. This was written about sex offenders whom I feel certain will NEVER be cured because they have deluded themselves into believing that they didn't do anything wrong.
To me, that is terrifying. These child sex offenders will most likely continue to abuse children until they do as John Wayne Gacey did, and start killing them.
Personally, I cannot imagine ANYTHING more disturbing in the entire world than child sexual abuse and murder of those young trusting little ones. To me, there is nothing that would mean more to me than eradicating these sick predators.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate it. ~ Joyce
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Well this really is something else. What a compelling piece that is as heart wrenching as it is awful. You have done a superb job with this and I congratulate you.
David
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Thank you for entering
David -
Just a note to all. The offenders are victims of abuse themselves in almost all cases. Their home lives were horrors or they had no home life at all, being completely neglected and left to fend for themselves. Teen offenders, especially those caught early (like about ten years old or so), DO have a chance for rehabilitation. THAT is what make it a worthwhile endeavor. Every child who is changed means a number of people will not be abused. Yes, it is hard to read the histories and see the children act out and continue to resist change, but sometimes it works! Thanks for reading and commenting.
Edited on Dec 10, 2:23 because ''. -
Wow! Iam very speechless,You did a wonderful write. Reading those different stories just made realize alot of different things. Have you seen the gracy movie? It is very sick. I couldnt watch it all. I couldn't even imagine what those boys were even going through. I couldn't imagine why anyone could do that kind of stuff. But I just want to say very good write and look forward to reading more of your stuff! from imagine27!
(Stacey)
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You have got more strength than I do to be doing that kind of work. I would come home sobbing every day, I think, knowing that the majority of those children had been abused themselves, feeling pity for them, and anger at the same time for their acting out... what a difficult thing to reconsile in your head.
Bless you in your work.
I know that the rehabilitation rate for sex offenders is almost zero. I don't know if that includes juvinilles.
I sat in the emergency room today because my son broke his big toe at school, and I watched this man who I was sure was a pedifile in there with a pre-teen girl. I wanted to tell her to get away from him, but I had no proof, just my gut feeling. I've learned to trust those feelings though. -
Wow! A grisly truth so eloquently stated. You have touched on a topic that fascinates me immensely: the haunting fact that those who commit the sickest, most depraved acts upon humanity act upon that which they rationalize as being good for the victim. Much of my own work is based upon this very ideal. Come check it out some time if the urge catches hold.
Best,
Mike -
ohhh i like this! i love the use of gacy and the make up and especially the "he loved them all" very good imagery good work!
*~love always, kelly o~* -
So much is going through my mind..i keep typing & deleting...restarting & i cannot for the life of me say a thing!
Powerful write you've created ..you've left me with many thoughts & no words..i just can't understand how these people can't see what they do is so terribly wrong..somewhere in that warped mind..they know...i know they do..how could they not?
it's just beyond my understanding i suppose
excellently written!
much love & peace
~Pamela -
Excellent! Well done!
It seems to be impossible for some people to see things from another's point of view. The fact that these sex offenders can't see that they are harming their victims is evidence of that. It also seems that it is mainly men who are unable to discern how their actions affect someone else. Very disturbing! How can you rehabilitate a mind that is incapable of understanding what it's doing wrong? Great poem!
<3 Maureen
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Wow this was painful to read. The subject is very disturbing yet it exists doesn't it. I'm at a loss for words, you have a tough job.
Red -
In their rooms they wonder why they are there,
but the gray washed walls give no clue.
that was my favorite line, by the way........i so know what that feels like -
wow.....teen sex offenders .......that so interesting.........i was in a mental health intstitution i guess you could call it....but yeah it kind of helps you realize that not everyone thinks in the same ways.....and that some peoples' minds are so........so......i don't know....confused isn't the right word...but anyways.....i saw a few different points of view in this poem-i don't know if it was intentional, but i liked it........good write
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I think the hardest thing for these young men to do is accept that they actually HURT someone. They do not understand that persuading or coercing a child is wrong because the child is incapable of giving consent. They do not see that 'just touching' can harm a child's psyche forever. They do not seem to understand that what they are doing could escalate to murder...
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this one shows the depth of your feeling for your job, and how it makes you feel about the sex offenders you watch over. sometimes you wonder what these young people did wrong, really, if their crimes were incidental of a teenage curiosity, as you reveal here, or if they did exactly what they did on purpose.
the acts you describe in this poem, like feeling a five year old womb, are despicable to most people, but to these kids it may just have been something to do, or something they were compelled to do. in that, there are a lot of underlying flaws in these people. teenagers often find themselves curous about things that most would never give a second thought about,and they do things that scare us. the nonchalant way you write in this piece says to me, you're writing from their perspective on it, and trying to see it in their light, the way they do, which makes this an amazing piece.
well, im waffling, so ill let you go...thanks for sharing! -SarahBean
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ack. this was hard to digest, sprite. not for any fault on your end, but for the way i can relate to some of the stories. this turns my stomach because i KNOW what it's like to be taken advantage of as a child. i've got this friend... one of her husband's pals is a convicted teenage sex offender. he abused his younger sister for years before anyone found out. now he's about 23 or 24 and has to register wherever he moves. i met the guy for a brief moment and .... i don't know. once those people are branded, that's what they ARE. you can't disassociate the act from the person. maybe that's unjust, but that's the way it is for me.
this was powerful and poignant. very well done and kind of unsettling. -
Difficult - but done so well
On a less personal note It's a great poem and so well written. They must be mentally ill and I feel the denial aspect throughout the poem shows this brilliantly
Will be back for more!
Hayley x x
Edited on Nov 17, 7:13 because 'Cos I am a numptie'. -
wow. that was deep. i have a feeling, that stuff needed to be said, but it was weird actually seeing it formed and spoken. good write. so much we don't understand, and most don't want to. you know?
le anne -
strange
"...They never sexually abused...
Unless it needed to be done."
Unless it needed to be done???
When does somebody EVER have to abuse anybody /anything... is this another one of those transatlantic meanings lost in the span of waves of the ocean????
i dont understand??? -
Powerful and chilling write, Joyce...one that cuts close to the bone. Your insight is rare and sensitive...well done
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You're sooooo sensitive, girl. Your heart is deep and observing and you make someone else's crisis your own. That is a heart...a REAL heart .
I grieved this!! Beaaaautifully and artfully done. Love, Cookie -
a walk on the darker side of the mind ~ the line, some choose - while others silently drift over the boundaries - slipping into chaos - a sad tale (truth), your words leave me feeling bound between emotions and struggling with indifference. It pays to take a look outside and wander in the halls of "why". May we all keep a tight grip upon this slippery reality. Just the thoughts in my mind ~ excellent write, brian
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Gosh Joyce, what can I say this is a bit more intense sad piece Im off to church all I can say is its terrible for both victim and one also thats ill.....We live in evil dark messed up world.....thats for sure. But this shows sometimes how people that aren't guilty put in with those that are.....Like inocencence being put in with those that are responsible....Hope this is okay.
Did you get your cards??Hugs dear one, Sherry~~ -
Awesome
This is a very disturbing, very evocative poem...that is to say it is excellently done. The flow is wonderful and the reader is swept from horror to horror - despite herself and the territory, enjoying the ride. You have created beauty through truth from ugliness and pain....isn't that a wonderful victory though?! Thanks for sharing this.
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