ABOUT ABUSE

Anguished cries into the phone/ "Please don't leave me here alone"/ Pleading for a helping hand/ "Come and help me make a stand"/ Saddened face comes to the door/ "I can't take this anymore"/ Red-rimmed eyes on swollen face/ "I need to first clean up this place"/ Hair disheveled, missing some/ Don't know where it all came from/ Bloody lip, blackened eye/ "Don't say a word, just let me cry"/ Uncertainty, of who's to blame/ Tired of playing a losing game/ "Perhaps if only I'd done right/ Anger would not rule the night"/ "It is my fault, can't you see/ This is my reality/ I must do what it will take/ To make this right, for our love's sake"/ "Go away, go on home/ Let me deal with this alone/ I can fix whatever's wrong/ I will make us get along"/ "You just don't understand/ I've not done all that I can/ You don't know them like I do/ One thing I know, their love is true"/ Close the door, walk away/ Nothing more that I can say/ Helpless feelings, hands are tied/ Fear grips tightly, deep inside/ Anguished cries into the night/ "God help this child of mine tonight/ How can I make them understand/ Love does'nt show an angered hand?"

Eyes closed tightly in the night/ Wish for daylight with all my might/ Stiffened legs to prevent/ Yet another unwanted event/ Breath upon me, smell of beer/ Please God, get me out of here/ Feel the hands upon my skin/ Wait for my hell to begin/ Clothing pulled, buttons pop/ Feel the weight of him on top/ Fighting futile, he will win/ Searing pain from deep within/ Mind please go blank, and with it bring/ My escape, a blessed thing/ Far away, I cannot feel/ Knowing not what is real/ Vague and hazy, I can see/ The little child that once was me/ Ravaged, torn, and forever changed/ Inner feelings rearranged/ Lifetime spent trying to erase/ The memory of a demon's face/ Still within it's grasp so tight/ Want for giving up the fight/ Realize my only chance/ Is to gleen from circumstance/ Let this be my open door/ Not my prison anymore/ Stare into it's ugly face/ Put the demon in it's place/ Take from it, instead of give/ What this monster needs to live/ No longer growing from my fear/ The demon begins to disappear/ Eyes no longer closed so tight/ Moving slowly toward daylight

Drop a quarter in the slot/ Hear the sad whine of guitar/ Glance around the smoke-filled room/ See the faces at the bar/ Lovers dancing on the floor/ Cigarette poised in their hand/ Taste of whiskey on their lips/ Faint line of a missing wedding band/ The woman in the corner booth/ Crying as she takes a sip/ Blackened eye shines in the light/ Dried up blood upon her lip/ Angry words hurled from the man/ Whose sitting on the other side/ Beating down her confidence/ Stealing every ounce of pride/ Dont say a word, just sit tight/ Watch and listen, little girl/ For you will see so much tonight/ The darker side of this sad world/ Barkeep glances over here/ Saddened eyes look down at me/ "You shouldn't be here little one/ There are things you need not see"/ Momma flirts and laughs aloud/ I see Daddy sitting there/ She's the center of the crowd/ Of his pain, she's unaware/ Lonely lady finds a seat/ Next to Daddy, as he sips/ Batting eyes and subtle words/ Promises flow from her lips/ Dont say a word, just sit tight/ Watch and listen, little girl/ For you will see so much tonight/ The darker side of this sad world/ Hand upon my shoulder now/ Smell of whiskey mixed with sweat/ "You're a pretty little thing/ You would love to dance, I bet"/ "Thank you, no, I'd rather not"/ "Come on babe, you look so sweet"/ Hands around my waist so tight/ Pull me, fighting, to my feet/ Breath upon me, old and stale/ Eyes devour my budding breast/ Hands begin to touch and grope/ Oblivious to all the rest/ Dont say a word, just sit tight/ Watch and listen, little girl/ For you will see so much tonight/ The darker side of this sad world/ Daddy comes to rescue me/ "Leave my little girl alone!"/ Angry, grabbing Momma too/ Silently we head for home/ Fighting in another room/ Words of accusation hurled/ Ending yet another night/ On the dark side of my world