BLAMED FOR BATTERY

Sunglasses cover blackened eyes,

Who’s to blame when a woman dies?

That man who beat the life from her body,

Or the woman who was afraid to tell somebody?

That her boyfriend threw punches whenever he lost control,

But her family knew, because her eyes said things,

her lips never told.

When he came back to apologize after awhile,

She’d shrug her shoulders and crack a hurt smile.

She felt alone and frightened often,

But there’s nothing to fear, when you’re resting in a coffin.

Maybe instead of turning your back, you should have tried to understand.

Instead of calling her stupid, you should have held her hand,

Made it your business to let her know she had a choice,

When all hope was lost, you could have been her voice.

But everyone talked around it, above it, below it.

No one ever told her she didn’t deserve it.

“It’s her business,” they’d say or “It’s not our place.”

“He’d never take it too far” but he did;

He shot her in the face.

And as her casket is lowered into the ground,

Mourners surround with their heads down.

Now all they can say is, “ It’s such a shame!”

Not realizing their silence is to blame.