Lisa's Ritual, Age 10

I know this is not one of the assigned readings, but it caught my eye because it was a poem.  Much like the ones my sisters wrote (I didn't because I wwas much to young to write, just young enough to remember) throughout our ordeal.  The only way my sister's is different is that it is a story of anger and revenge, not of acceptance.  If we would have accepted our abuse and done nothing, my family would not have survived, we would have been killed.  This poem portrays how a young girl feels after being raped by her father.  She draws a hot bath hoping that the feelings, anger, and pain will just go down the drain after she bathes.  After she bathes she curls up in the corner of her room against a wall, her sanctuary, where she is safe.  It is sad that she has to turn to a wall for protection from the person who is supposed to be protecting her.  I used to do this, except my safe haven was my closet, nobody ever found me there.  Rape and domestic abuse are such serious problems, but the screams for help are never very loud, train yourself to read further into the feelings, don't just shrug them off, you could be saving a life.