The following poem is based on a true story.  Identity of the family is protected although, sadly,  it could be true for many.

 

Thank you for the gift she said,

Years of pretending now are dead,

Tension, eruption, honeymoon game,

Flowers, silence, to hide the shame.

Decisively over with one last blow, 

Facial bruises easy to show,

Simply posted for all to see,

“This is what he did to me.”

No longer her problem his unresolved rage,

Her time has come to turn the page,

Love once true, hoping to win,

Healing for both now happens within.

 

The poem speaks to the helplessness a (m)other feels when a loved one is caught in an unhealthy relationship.  It reminds me of a researcher studied many years ago who suggested all offenders shared a history of physiological anomalies or developmental trauma, i.e. some can only be contained while others could possibly be treated.  I often wonder if that is true.