“Closeted Threats”
Trigger Warning ~ sexual abuse
at the tender age of five
unknowing, in the ways of
the sexual needs of men
the attention, was different
my own mother, absent
in her own hell
I’m sure
the light burned high above
his head, as he towered over me
blinding me ~
squinting my eyes
I heard ~
you can’t tell them
or else
the words fell
to the closet floor
where I sat
later, a mindful adult
asked, the secret spilled
in the parking lot of the local bar
where my mother tended
my mother devastated
her patrons gathered round
his car, left by the side of the road
he was never found
that’s how it ends for those
in a small Texas town
Beautifully, brutally honest, Amanda. Well done.
Wow – powerful
This IS powerful!
know this story, different version we are kindred sisters
Wow. We writers sometimes write from experience, sometimes from imagination, and sometimes from a bit of both. If this happened to you, I am so sorry. This is hugely powerful and what an awful memory to carry and to be triggered by a simple closet.
You made a wonderful use of so few words to depict so much. Leaving it up to the reader to decide if the mother was devastated to learn of her daughter’s assault or to learn of the man’s disappearance was especially effective.
A brave piece written more from the heart than I could ever do. Thank you for posting.
I had a similar situation when I was a child.
“later, a mindful adult
asked, the secret spilled”
From what I remember it was terrifying to disclose what was going on when there were so many threats.