she will not look at me
hurries through the living room
hand covering her face.
I go to her
see it
the eye
raw bruise
pink iris
distorted pupil
puffed almost shut
opening the truth
of her relationship
with her boyfriend.
who did this?
she shakes her head
shame spills
my fault
# # #
Poetry Editor’s Note: October is nationally recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Image credit: Photography by the staff of Black Celebrity Giving
Marsha Mathews is Professor Emerita, Dalton State College, Dalton, GA. During the 1990s, Marsha served as an Ordained Minister in the United Methodist Church. Her poems have appeared in Appalachian Heritage, The Fourth River Best Writings of the Decade; Delmarva Review; Gargoyle; Raleigh Review; War, Literature & the Arts; and many other fine journals. Mathews has four chapbooks; Growing Up with Pigtails won the Georgia Author of the Year Award for Young Adults. Her first full collection of poetry, BEAUTY BOUND, (Main Street Rag 2019) explores human extremes to attain attractiveness.
Latest posts by Marsha Mathews (see all)
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