To sit in silence, cold and true.
To sit in silence, low and blue.
An old lady sitting peacefully dress in black with a dark veil
told me how to not live my life as living hell.
To sit in silence, nonchalant and bold.
To sit in silence, she spoke her story to be told.
A pick or two till a quarter of two is when her husband died.
Just listen, dear, to the words I bear and long shall you survive.
To sit in silence with a depressed face.
To sit in silence seeing her sad embrace.
The story of life and love so cruel,
has now come back to take revenge on you.
To sit in silence while he repeated to hit,
To sit in silence while he throws a fit,
To sit in silence while he throws you against the wall,
To sit in silence while he throws you down the hall,
To sit in silence when he threatened to end it all.
To sit in silence, crying abuse while trying to crawl.
Away with a bloody face, shocked at what just took place.
Not knowing if you will make it to see a new day.
All because of the sentence he just said.
The only thing I saw was red!
On the floor by the fireplace I stared,
Picking up a long cold stick, the one you use in a fire pit.
I blew a breath with rage.
One swift move, well he didn’t move
He never got up but he overfilled my cup,
I finally had enough.
A pick or two till a quarter to two the murder was done.
Didn’t care he was his mother’s son,
Many were sad at the fact he died.
Many of his mistresses cried.
Miss, you shall not fear for his time was near
But just listen, dear, to the words I bear and long shall you survive.
“Silent isn’t empty, it’s full of answers”-unknown. I was inspired to write this piece by this quote because it spoked a clear message to me. Growing up I witnessed my mom go through mental and physical abuse by a man. I sat in silence not knowing what to do, but I also knew I couldn’t do anything because of my small size. One day I finally had the courage to stand up for my mom. I silently learned how to call 911, and the man was arrested. When writing this piece I thought of the moments of abuse that my mother went through; with the poem I decided to add a twist of murder. It was how I felt when I was a little girl. I used several literary devices, including imagery, setting, tension and indirect characterization. In my poem “To sit in silence” I am exploring the theme of a woman’s retribution to mental and physical abuse from her husband.