I hear the voices of the children crying out in pain
With no one to help them and nothing to gain
The screams are so deafening and the pain so intense
My walls break down and so goes my defense
I see the eyes of the children bloodshot and weary
From a lifetime of sadness, abandonment, shock, and worry
They are vacant and lifeless with no hope to see
When I look in their eyes I see a reflection of me
I see the bodies of the children battered and bruised
And I wonder where they can go to get soothed
There are very few places for people who have been abused
Places that are safe where they won't get reused
This place I am in now is dark and deep
With very few cracks for which hope can seep
I hear my child screaming inside of me now
Begging me to protect her from the world somehow
But, my God, I'm so tired of fighting these beasts
I just want them to leave me and grant me some peace
My child's in pain and her bruises are sore
And when she screams I feel it all the way to my core
I feel her pain and try to figure out what to do
I guess all I can do is to feel it to
I'm sick of fighting - I'm sick of the struggle
All I feel now is anger, anger, anger
I'm angry at the people who did this to me and her
I'm angry at the people who allowed it to occur
I'm angry at the animals that treated us like dirt
I'm angry at the people that gave us only hurt
I'm looking forward to that all important day
When all of those people and animals will pay
But until that day finally arrives
My child and I will have to continue to survive
Our sanity and hope will be as one
Until our Higher Power says our work is done
The three of us will not let the others win
Because if we give up - ours will be the greater sin

Tracy Kiewel Sutterer

I think it is important to note that my poetry is a statement of my recovery and I thank God daily for it.