Come join me,
In the dark.
I’ll make room for you,
Wake up your body,
Open your heart.
I’ll swallow your pain,
The poison I deserve.
It can’t kill me,
I am already dead.
Author Statement
It can be a struggle to have healthy relationships after CSA. At the time I was feeling responsible for the difficulties and felt hopeless and alone in the darkness.
A Crack Appears
I am all armoured up
Keeping in check, taking my stance
defenses in place, doing my dance
I am all armoured up
Facing forward, controlling the chills
sensitivities heightened, sharpening my skills
I am all armoured up
As the cries get louder, the bars grow taller
deafening shrills, sharpening my skills
I am all armoured up
Breaking free, merely a dream
on high alert, my insides scream
Covering my tracks, polishing my rackets
the boxes stay shut, covering my casket
I am all armoured up
Never giving up,
today is the day the crack appears
Author Statement
the words just flowed as I felt familiar old feelings emerging
and after the crack appeared, the pain and sorrow from my youth came
flooding out . ON the path to healing this
Duplex III: Be Quiet
Be quiet; the voice doesn’t belong here,
Only the body turned into piñata.
Your body made into a piñata.
Boys swing their sticks, breaking things not theirs.
Boys hit you with their sticks, breaking things not theirs.
Innocence falls, swallowed up by night.
Fallen innocence, swallowed by night.
Candy wrappers are clothes, no room for names.
Candy wrappers for clothes. Who cares about names?
Boys gnaw on silent sugary screams.
Boys’ teeth dig into sugary screams.
Confectionery prey, looking for sound.
Confectionery, pray, can’t find sound,
Only the body turned into piñata.
Copyright ©️ 2024
Author Statement
As an advocate and survivor of child sexual assault and sexual assault, I use poetry as a powerful tool for healing and raising awareness. My words speak for those who have been silenced and made to believe that their pain was their fault. Through my art, I aim to break the cycle of shame and empower survivors to reclaim their voices and bodies.
Please don't turn out the light, don't let the darkness fall,
For then I'll hear his footsteps treading down the hall.
Please don't turn out the light, I want to wait awhile,
For he is oh so big and strong
And I am just a child.
Please don't turn out the light,I'm not ready for the pain,
I think I hear his footsteps
Yes, here he comes again.
Please don't turn out the light, just wait and let me sleep
Amongst the stars where I'll ask God "I pray my soul to keep."
Author Statement
After living in fear of this foster Father I was abandon by this family when they deemed me incorrigible. I never told on him.
A constant dark cloud looms over my head.
Everyone tells me to forgive and forget. How do I do that when my childhood and innocence were stolen from me? I become an adult before I was able to be a child.
I cry but no tears.
I am in pain though no ones notices.
Alone all the time in my mind.
Once the abuse happened, the secret followed me like a dark shadow.
I go through the motions of life. What an unhappy and angry existence like being trapped down among the dead men in that dark deep hole.
Arises a twinkle of light.
Come down light in the night.
What’s it like in the light?
When all I do is walk in the rain.
Cold and lonely.
Wasted days.
Wasted years.
It really feels like hell.
Done my time in hell!
Done my time feeling out of place.
The walls are coming down.
My awakening beckons to me.
With help, my journey from the darkness begins.
It won’t be easy, but better than it was.
Robert McDonald, Uxbridge Canada
Author Statement
I was inspired to write the poem entitled “Darkness” as a testament of my healing journey. The process of writing is another healing modality which is therapeutic to me. I hope my poem touches someone else.
The meaning of the poem entitled “Darkness” embodies the loneliness, shame, anger, resentment and internal pain from my childhood throughout adulthood until I sought help. I am no longer a victim I am a warrior – a true survivor!
The Strength & Power of Whispers
You are no longer alone
My brave soul
Breathe
With a nod
I acknowledge your courage
Your expressive truth
Your knowing
For the experiential quilt of words your authenticity brings
I am grateful
"Beyond your breath your whisper is knowing, brave and courageous. You opened up your soul, authenticity and the truth. You showed your strength and beauty and you are no longer alone."
(Author- Stefan (group facilitator at The Gatehouse)
Author Statement
I felt self-empowered and happy that I could share my thoughts.
Exploitation is a smoking gun,
Stealing choices from our young.
It shoots at futures, leaving them dead.
Like bullets, grooming rattles through heads.
Exploitation is a blade thrusting deep,
Murdering families as grief steals sleep.
It uses tactics like pressure and threats,
Pushing gifts & drugs to create “work debts”.
Exploitation is a social media disease,
Using platforms to “recruit” with ease.
It fakes aspects of life to trick and coerce,
Making alternatives seem weak or worse.
Exploitation is lurking by shops and schools,
Dangling temptation to follow new “rules”.
It offers to help with what kids might want,
Sucking them in with status or front.
Exploitation is at first a friendly disguise,
As kids look in with innocent eyes.
It picks at any child’s perceived weakness,
Offering fake futures away from life’s “bleakness”.
Exploitation is a destroyer of homes,
Forcing kids “Out There” to “Carry” and roam.
It plugs inside children – just like drug wraps,
Abandoned to fend-off rival attacks.
Exploitation is bribery then assault,
Hurting and beating to get a “result”.
It brands and degrades to destroy any bravery,
Entrenching children in modern slavery.
HEALING
The hero’s journey
Exhausted
Recovering from the
Broken Pieces
Stretched
Thin
Tears of liberation
Healing
is
the path
Towards
the free self
Riding moon beams
Waves crashing
I exhale
The underworld
Pain of change
Loss
I am
Reborn
Collective Poem Process on Healing
Arthur Lockhart
Founder Emeritus
The Gatehouse
Author Statement
This poem was the outcome of a group poetry writing session where everyone attached a word or phrase to the word HEALING. I combined the words into a poem on healing. It was a truly joyful process collaborating with others, and each person was able to create their own unique poem through this creative process of collaboration and sharing.
There will be another such session in October through the Gatehouse. Please visit the Gatehouse website: www.thegatehouse.org to see the date when the session will be taking place.
