They say that he’s a wiz around the garden,

And flowers seem to grow on his command,

They say that he’s a genius in the kitchen.

He’s every woman’s perfect, ideal man,

I hear them tell my momma that he’s handsome,

And giggle does he wear you out in bed,

Momma doesn’t answer, she just blushes,

And talks about some other thing instead,

They see him in the street, and smiling sweetly,

He holds the door for them and tips his hat,

And they all say that my daddy is a kind man,

But momma knows another side to that,

For momma wears dark glasses when it’s cloudy,

And sounds a little nervous when she speaks,

Momma wears more makeup than she used to,

It hides the bruises there upon her cheeks,

She laughs and says “my god I’m getting clumsy”,

If any-ones suspicions should be raised,

Dad would smile and say, “they’ll think I beat you,

The amount of times you hurt yourself these days”,

But nobody could believe he’d ever do that,

This handsome man oozed charm from every pore,

But while he was out of town, or he was working,

My momma wasn’t clumsy anymore,

And it was only when my daddy came home drinking,

Or stress at work was more than he could bare,

That momma ever slipped while in the kitchen,

And accidentally hurt herself, somewhere,

So many nights I heard that big man crying,

Begging her forgiveness through his tears,

And like a fool my momma would forgive him,

And put powder on before the bruise appeared,

He’d say I only do it, cause I love you,

You know I’m only angry cause I care,

And every single time would be the last time,

He’d never raise his hand again he’d swear,

Time after time I begged my momma leave him,

Saying you don’t have to take all his abuse,

But even though she knew I’d never believe it,

Momma always made up some excuse,

She’d say she turned too fast, his elbow caught her,

And it was more her fault than it was his,

She’d say that he was sorry and he’d held her,

As if he could make it better with a kiss,

When I was twenty three I found them fighting,

I grabbed his wrist just as he raised his hand,

I pinned him to the wall and told him leave her,

“You hit her, and I’ll kill you where you stand”,

He looked at me so certain I would do it,

I told him “leave while you still have the chance”,

Though momma tried to stop him, he ignored her,

And left the house without a second glance,

Well that was five long years ago last April,

And we haven’t seen or heard of him since then,

Momma hasn’t worn a bruise in ages,

And I hear that daddy’s settled down again,

They say he’s still a genius in the kitchen,

And his garden is so beautifully arranged,

They say his new wife sometimes wears dark glasses,

It seems some people don’t know how to change,

By S.E.Ralph..

31-4-2002