rage of mothers

a short poem about violence against women and girls

the rage of mothers,
is an infinite well.
a sometimes seeming,
endless hell.

you suffer,
with your children,
as you watch them wilt
under the indifferent eye
of their father.
his words,
like knives,
thrown,
straight at the heart.

you see on tv,
every day,
another man
facing time for,
another crime
against a woman,
he walks. scot-free.
a finger wag,
"don't do that again",
slap on the hand,
and, off. he. goes.

while mothers,
are left to mourn their daughters,
and their daughters,
mourn,
who they were before,
if they didn't die.

your children look at you
with eyes that scream.
why didn't you save us?

i could not even save myself.

i would not leave you,
in that barren place,
to face the pain,
alone.