I’d fallen hard, I’d shed my tears

This last year’s put me to the test

But everything looks different now

I’ve learned that I’m not second best

 My place is not two steps behind

I’m not the waste of space he claims

My contributions are of worth

I was just a victim of his games

The ones that made him feel so fine

Important, rich, superior

They hid the flaws and arrogance

That rendered him inferior

 So jealous, he, of everyone

No man or woman made the grade

He put them down, belittled them

Not good enough for ‘His’ parade

They tried to help and be his friends

Their offerings just weren’t enough

No matter what their efforts cost

He’d sneer at them and brush them off

 Oh, I’d made friends and socialised

But him, they didn’t care for much

With all his lordly attitudes

His grand ideas, so out of touch

Reality (not his strongest point)

Crept up on him from time to time

Then he’d turn his rage on me

Lay blame for some invented crime

He’d bully and he’d beat his chest

His tantrums were a sight to see

I might have thought them quite a joke

If only I had not been me

My courage drained, my spirit crushed

Forced to bow to his aggression

Expertly being ground to mush

I cracked and fell in to submission

He made me feel incompetent

That life without him would be cursed

Demanded awe and gratitude

That he would wed, despite my worst

Then came the day when I discerned

Existence of his life elsewhere

His outburst shook me to the core

His violence left me trembling there

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Don’t get me wrong, when we were wed

His perfect mask did not slip once

So appealing was his character

I truly thought we had a chance

Indeed, the first few years were great

A marriage made in celebration

Turns out that it was nothing more

Than part of his manipulation

Whilst I, in blissful mood, did fail

To see his underlying intent

I, stripped of everything I owned,

Was made completely dependent

________________________________

Now (foolish woman that I am)

My future looks quite bleak and cold

Those years have left me lacking trust

Afraid to love and getting old

But I have learned (is it too late?)

That I was never second best

My contributions are of worth

It wasn’t me that failed this test!