Tuesday, October 23, 2018

OctPoWriMo Day 22: 'Zia's Nine. She Refuses To Sleep Without A Night Light, Says There Are Monsters. Oh No, We Didn't Install One. My Husband Said She Was Just Being Silly.'

I've read palindromes, but I've never attempted one until today. 'Betrayal' as a theme encompasses a lot of stuff, but I couldn't help thinking about what happens when protectors betray the ones under their charge.

What happens when home - the safest place a child should have - becomes a nightmare, because there is a human monster lurking about?

This is far from the best palindrome, but the thoughts wouldn't go away, so I wrote it, and decency be damned. Sexual abuse of children happens in the home far too often, and it NEEDS to be addressed.


DAY 22: ‘ZIA’S NINE. SHE REFUSES TO SLEEP WITHOUT A NIGHTLIGHT, SAYS THERE ARE MONSTERS. OH NO, WE DIDN’T INSTALL ONE. MY HUSBAND SAID SHE WAS JUST BEING SILLY.’

Here be monsters
Always. But Mummy says there are none.
Door opens. Monster eyes. Daddy’s face. Daddy’s
Dark like monsters.
Must I? Yes, says Daddy.
Daddy says Yes I must.
Monsters like dark.
Daddy’s face, Daddy’s eyes. Monster opens door.
None are there, says Mummy. But always
Monsters be here.



2 comments:

Ornery Owl of Naughty Netherworld Press and Readers Roost said...

Yes, it happens all too often, and even these days, people are quick to put on their blindfolds and pretend it doesn't exist.
Your poem captured the essence of the sick, helpless feeling that a victim of these violations feels.

Shuku said...

Cara: I know! It's just awful, and I get so *angry* that it gets put under wraps. Here the family usually hushes it up, or, worse yet, puts all the blame on the child for either making up stories or 'causing' it. It's despicable.