I am posting the following poem from Allie, a blog writer, and reader. I was recently notified by a reader that this was written by James Kisner, thank you.
__________________________
I wanted to share this poem with everyone, because I feel it is important for everyone to know that it is ok to get involved. The more people that get involved the more we can prevent abuse. I feel the best way to show someone that you care is to help them even if you are not directly involved.
She was such a pretty child, as pretty as could be.
The blondest hair and bluest eyes, this little girl of three.
She lived next door and I would often see her play outside.
Putting all her dollies in a wagon for a ride.
I often thought how beautiful she would be when she’s grown.
She was just the cutest thing as she played there alone.
I only knew her parents from a passing wave or “hi.”
They did not want to socialize each time that I would try.
I sometimes heard them arguing when I was in my yard.
I know the problems people have can sometimes make life hard.
I thought they were just loners because they kept to them self.
They might think I am nosy if I try to offer help.
They never bother anyone, the other neighbors say.
And the little girl can only go out back to play.
You only see them come and go, they never stay outside.
You wonder when they act like that, have they something to hide?
One day I heard them arguing, much louder than before.
As I looked out, the little girl was standing by her door.
Her little face was bruised and tears were running down her cheek.
I wanted to go over there, but I was scared and meek.
Finally when the screaming stopped, and everything was calm
I saw the little girl was being held close to her mom.
Her mother rocked her back and forth, and she was crying too.
Just standing in the back yard, there was nothing I could do.
Nothing I could ever do, would be of any use.
This mother and this little girl were suffering abuse.
She had better call someone and get this thing resolved.
But, it is not my business and I cannot get involved.
As I spoke with neighbors, about what went on next door
They all agreed, that it was sad, it’s something we abhor.
It’s something we must overlook, we cannot interfere.
But, now we sing a different tune, as we are gathered here.
The neighborhood feels guilty,
for we looked the other way.
Are we all responsible for being here today?
We feel the anger and the shame, because we all stood by
Knowing now we could have helped, but didn’t even try.
And now this little three year old, so beautiful to me
Surrounded by her dollies, just the way she loved to be
Is in a little casket, with her body limp and frail.
Her mom is in intensive care, her dad is now in jail.
The funeral home is quiet, because we all realize
The reason you must get involved is right before our eyes.
Abuse in any form is something we must all resent.
And fight with every tool we have to save our innocent.
Author Unknown
Hi Sarah,
I am so happy to hear where you are. The poem was posted by a reader with author unknown. Feel free to post it.
Love & Peace,
Rebecca
LikeLike
Hi Rebecca,
I am a survivor of a domestic violence relationship and am currently starting my own website to provide info and support to victims and survivors of Domestic Violence.
I would be really grateful for your permission to use this poem on one of my pages? Obviously, I would put your name as the author and use your webpage info/link.
Could you please let me know that you would be happy for me to do this?
Many thanks
Sarah
LikeLike
Ndimande sbu
LikeLike
Dear Sarah,
Thank you for sharing, I am so very sorry for all that you have been threw. Parents are supposed to protect you and sadly this is not always true. I pray that you can grow from all of this and have a good life, you deserve it. You may use the poem and permission is given on the site. Just put Rebecca J. Burns as the author and link either here or to http://www.rebeccaburns.com if you use the item in print. If not just author acknowledgment is enough. I hope that these words will inpire other to talk and help stop all violence, especially to children. You are love by those that don’t even know you Sarah. Find support, it will make all the difference in your life. I grew up in horrible abuse and am amazed at how strong I am now. It shapes who you are and who you become. Decide to come out on the other side, fight for the right.
Hope to hear from you again.
Love & Peace,
Rebecca
LikeLike
I just wanted to say that this is such a sad poem…… I would appreciate it very much if I could use this in one of my assignments I have coming up…. Of course i’d make sure it was your name as the author……
I dealt with abuse for some time when I was younger too… My step dad would use the metal end of the belt and his hand but the wooden spoon was his favourite… Occasionally as I was growing up, reaching puberty he started touching places he really shouldn’t have…… I watched my mother and my younger brother get beaten and there was never any reason for it… Every little thing we would get in trouble for would always be prolonged…. He’s left now and my mum is happy but at one stage he drover her to almost comitting suicide……
Just wanted to put my 2cents worth in……
xo Sarah xo
LikeLike
Dear Nikki,
No, I did not suffer to the point you did as a child, as an adult I was abused and terroized. As a child I lived in an abusive home, had been choked and feared a breath. I watched as my older sister, like you was beaten and my mom. I was spared, I was the quiet one in the corner. I suffered depression for much of my life until recently I was able to gain control of my thoughts. Once you can decide what to think about you are in charge. You have a chance to live in what happened to you or to make the world a better place. Sadly, your suffering will be what helps others by your story. You should write, really, it will help you to heal and see that you are stronger than you think, and your story will help other kids in your shoes know that they are not alone.
I hope to hear from you again soon. you are in my thoughts and prayers. You don’t get to pick your family but you do get to pick your friends, pick healthy ones that support you..
Love & Peace,
Rebecca xoxo
LikeLike
Hi Rececca
Thank-you for your wise words. have you personally delt with pain like this?… My mother does not understand me very well, lately it is getting worse but what do you do? anyway thanks those words are strong. (:
Keep it up.
Nikk
LikeLike
Dearest Nikki,
My heart broke when I read your post. So many want to pretend this away but how can we? I am so sorry that you had to be surrounded with evil and pain. I pray that the rest of your life be more. You were meant for so much more than this. You are more than this. I can hear your strength in your words and how you care for your family. You have more wisdom than many adults. I know you said you don’t talk about it, but by sharing what you have overcome you will help another person not feel so alone.
I hope to hear from you again.
Love & Peace,
Rebecca
LikeLike
Hi My name is Nikki and i am 15yrs old and for a large percentage of my life i have delt with my father beating me, non stop. that poem hit very hard and close to home. all i can say is i wanted help. my neighbours were similar and did not get involved, by the time i was 4 i had, had 2 broken arms, broken ribls, internal bruising and bleeding, and i have scars that will stay with me forever, never letting me forget. I don’t talk about it. ever. my father was involved in the local gang, often there would be gunfire around our house. i kearned to operate a a fire arm from a young age. but al is sort of well now. mum my sister and i are relitavely safe. i would never let my sister be harmed and i think that is why she is so bright and happy. for that i am glad. to keep my family safe is my no.1 priority
cya
nikk
LikeLike
I just read the poem above that seemed to been told by a neighbor about the little girl and the abuse that finally killed her. Wow!! It says the author is unknown, but after reading some of the comments, I came under the impression that Rebecca Burns is the author. I am writing an informational speech on Domestic Violence for my class which is due on the 8th of November. I’d really like to use this poem as the intro to my speech but I’d also like get permission from the author and give them credit as well. Does anyone have any information on this? I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you,
Lisa
LikeLike
this poem is so touching and so true. 😦 people shouldnt be afraid to get involved when it comes to any type of abuse.if it means saving a life then you have to get involved.i know from experience what its like to be abused amotionally and physically.if anyone is abusing you in ANY way then u should tell someone or just get away from that person whos hurting you.youve got to be strong! thats what i did and now i lead a much happier life .
LikeLike
Beautiful story, it is true sometimes we must do something instead of looking the other way. This poem brought tears to my eyes.
I can understand why someone may look the other way, they are afraid or do not want to be involved. Many times when my husband used to beat me in public, I could recall i could see the neighbor looking and walk away. They never offered to help as I lay in the ground, or my e-xhusband dragging me by the hair into the house as I was 7 months pregnant. From those bystanders no one ever offered to help. I recall that one neighbor did call the local authorities. They called my sister-in-law who was at the same place where I was being beaten by her brother(she worked as a jailer in our local polic department) and say that she had it under control. She did nothing and no one ever came to help. I do not hate them nor I resent that they did not help me. I know they where afraid or did not want to be involved. Thank God I survived and I have learned that I will not be a bystander.
LikeLike
tears comeing down of my eyse,it’s really touching …it made me wander what would i do if one day i was in you’re place ,watching a mom and her child being abused…i hate even thinking about it…but i promise not to stand and watch ,but to learn from this poem,and act,i know GOD can help me help them,or at least he’ll wisper in my years(pray for them)..i promise i well,i know what is abuse.
THANK YOU,MAY GOD BLESS YOU.
LikeLike
i love it its so great
LikeLike
beautiful but sad poem very touching
LikeLike
Surrey,
Of course you can. Make sure to title your name if you are the author. By posting it here you are giving me permission to use it through out the website and in my upcomming book The Last Straw. A free copy of all poetry collected here will be given freely on this site to others.
You can email it to me at dreamfocused@earthlink.net or posted here.
Thank you.
Love & Peace,
Rebecca
LikeLike
Dear Madam,
Could I submit a poem.
It has been published before.
Yours truly Surrey
LikeLike
i think that even if someone is not involved in an abusive situation and kno about it they should tell someone
LikeLike
hey i just wanted to say that i love ur poem i am 15 and a close friend of mine was being abused i think this really describes anybodys journal
take care becky xxx
LikeLike
Samatha,
We see you loud and clear. I see a very strong person indeed. Don’t become your past. Take control of your life and change the world by changing you life.
Love & Peace,
Rebecca
LikeLike
OMG…this poem is so touching…it is very true i need to know though if someone you know is being abused how do you help them if they don’t want any help…this poem made me cry especially the ending part where the little girl died it is so sad how the innocent are punished especially with death…*teardrop, teardrop*
LikeLike
wow, that is soooo sad!!!!
LikeLike
This poem was incredible i am 19 years of age and i am in my key skills lesson at nescot college oops lol, i would like to be a choreogropaher and i feel very strongly about DV and becuase of this i choregraphed a piece for my dance assignment at college.
My teacher was so touched by it, that they put it into my final major project… “Just a Thought”. xx
LikeLike
this poem should be put out there i had read it once before when doing my senior project !! its a real eye opener on how we sometimes can act selvefish and only care about our self when theres people that need our help!!!!
LikeLike
this poem really hit me pretty hard.. At my home i am neglected and sometimes abused emotionaly. One time when i was 12 my mother pulled my hair and slamed me up against the wall really hard. i still cower in fear when she comes near me at times. It has only been 2 years almost 3, yes i am 14. i have no father my mothers boyfriends dont usaly give a fuck about me. im all alone in this big world and i dont know what to do cuz ppl dont see what im going through. they say that im imagining things and that i need help.
LikeLike
This poem is by James. A.Kisner. I stumbled across it whilst researching for my presentation on domestic violence. It’s really touching and shows how people often turn a blind eye to what is going on around them.
LikeLike
Wow thats true in so many ways then one.It touches you in some many ways.Make you think that what if i would of did that or called the cops.Now the what if part is out and the only if i knew part is in.This is something everyone can relate to so real and oh so true.
LikeLike
Very impacting poem. Thank you!
Kristal
LikeLike
That’s a great poem. It made me cry. Even tough I’m on 13 I have started a group with my friends. We raise money to give to charities and foundations. We raised about 200 dollars last year for Alex’s Lemonade Stand. This poem has enspired me to raise money for child abuse if there is such a foundation.
LikeLike
Dear Jon,
Thank you for writing. I have no issues with others using the poem but my name MUST be added as the author. This poem is widely read and appears in a poetry book I have written. It is the main poem that produces readers of this site and others so you may post it on your site but you Must add my name Rebecca J. Burns as author and when possible link back to this site.
I appreciate that you liked the poem, I too agree it is very touching and am amazed at the response this poem and photo have received. Also, if you post the poem you must put the photographer as D. Sharon Pruitt.
I wish you well in all that you do.
Love & Peace,
Rebecca J. Burns
LikeLike
This poem struck me very hard. It was worded so well. What an awful story. It brought images in my head of a little girl getting hit by an abusive father. It almost made me cry, especially the ending. And I would love to put it on my website with your permission as anonymous to get more people to read this. Peace
LikeLike