When I was a ten-year-old child in Chicago there was a woman whose husband would physically and mentally abuse her. Sometimes I would catch her crying in the stairsteps. It was heartbreaking and I remember wishing I could help her.
She is the subject of this poem.
You can also see the video on YouTube – Forget also available in Spanish on YouTube – Olivide
Sometimes I can’t remember: often, actually
The times I ran out and said nothing to you
The times I was angry and pretended to be okay
The times I didn’t come home at night
Sometimes I can’t remember: often, actually
When your anger lashes out at me
When you drank too often and hurt me
When you disappeared into an aberrant abyss of time
Sometimes I do remember: often, actually
Your cruel words that hurt
Your desire to touch that repulses
Your anger at who you’ve become
I remember and choose to forget
Do you love? As those you love are hurt
Do you know the emergency room—a second home?
Do you understand—Inner scars show more than ones I wear?
Sometimes I can’t remember: often, actually
The raising of happy children here
The life we thought was possible
The comfort of a safe loving home
Sometimes I can’t remember: often, actually
How—reality needs exposure
How—I’ve always remembered
How—lights slowly dim on you