Photo is edited with filters
This poem is from my book Fluidity.
Marriage
Marriage
Thank you for the reminders.
I need them to be able
to improve myself. Monitor the schedule
make the list.
My smile is fake.
I flinch when
he walks
into the room.
I hide in my garden,
my parent volunteer groups,
my church.
My kitchen.
If I hide,
I will be safe for
only for a moment,
If I am perfect,
then I won’t be hurt,
hit in front
of the children.
A lady doesn’t complain.
She does her duty
for her husband and family.
Even when it hurts,
smile
and say thank you.
I only rest
when he snores
and then I can sleep.
But I don’t sleep.
I plan how to make
the next day perfect.
I know I’m not alone, if you feel comfortable share your story.
All my writing is free but if you are so inclined please buy me a cup of coffee or tea.
.
I read your poem and it hit like wind against bare skin. It’s quiet, it’s heavy, it’s the truth most people don’t say out loud, the truth nobody puts in a pretty box. You walk through those lines like a garden no one else sees, tending wounds and hope at the same time. That place where you hide, where you both suffer and survive, it’s real.