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The Damage of Abuse

I wish I could expose and shame
All those who abused you when you were a girl
Growing up in a torrent of hail and pain
As they stripped the remains of your childhood away

The foster-mother who neglected you
The foster-father who molested you
The welfare worker who imprisoned you
The state psychiatrist who violated you
The extended family that turned their eyes blind
The review board members who enabled it all

I wish I could avenge the damage
That impels your daily struggle for peace
Your search for perfection and release
And your courageous strength of will
Reaching for what is normal and whole

Show me who to shame and kill
To avenge the damages done to you
And the hurts to those who love you now
Inflicted in collateral

I know there is no revenge to be had
Your abusers are escaped or dead
But they live on among us, untouchable
In all the damage they do and did.

poem by Frank Bana
Added by Poetry Lover
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