THE WEIGHT OF SURVIVAL

A poem

Found on Pinterest

There is shame
tied to being a victim.
No, I’m not a victim,
I’m a survivor of
intimate partner abuse.

”Why would anyone stay for that long?”
It could have been the
love I had for her,
the hope she’d change,
manipulation, fear,
or denial.

“I would have left at the first sign of abuse.”
It’s insidious. It’s complicated.
It slowly spreads, worsening with time.
And before you know it,
you’ve been molded
to believe that is love.

Those statements
guilt the survivor.
They further silence
and minimize the survival.
Taking away the blame
from the perpetrator.

Question the abuser.

“Why did you abuse her for so long?”
“Why did you stay if you hated her so much?”

But that doesn’t matter.
At the end of the day,
abuse is never justified.