Her fingers nervously toy with
The ends of her battered shawl
Covering up the scars and bruises of her latest “fall”
She sits alone
Looking out her window
Remembering past dreams
Of a man with love
Of soft touches
Of children playing in the yard
Of a heart bigger than this empty shard
That she is left with
Who is to blame?

Her blank eyes stare
She’s given up hope
Of those long-lost dreams cause she’s
Already dead
Wishing someone would just care when she bled
Her soft cries of agony are heard throughout the night
But no one ever confronts him outright
Who is to blame?

Her face is tattooed with
The blue and black, green and black, purple and black
Reminders of her man’s humiliation
With his poor occupation
Which we constantly look down upon
Not fit for our conversation
Who is to blame?

She dreads the time when
He comes home
Home from a day of constant abuse, constant shame
Which he unleashes onto
Her
A man molded in anger
From his frustration, his dismay, his cries
From his parents beating him up as a child
Who is to blame?

What causes a man to turn to such rage
His past, his present, or even his dim future at minimum wage
All stemming from our disconnect to recognize the
Neglect and disrespect
This man faced throughout his years
Always beat down
By the same people who now condemn him
Who is to blame?

Is hers truly a problem that should be left to hide
Always shut up or inside
The walls of broken homes that
Stand alone
Bravely bearing this in silence
Refusing to speak out against the violence
She sits
Bruised and battered
With no hope for anything
In the future
Who is to blame?

We all see her and
We all look away
Leaving her alone with her pain
So we won’t have to deal with the shame
That one of us caused this
A person
Responsible for this brutality
For this obvious reminder of mortality
Who is to blame?

Is it our fault, one we cannot repair
Our mistake, which created this man in despair
Who can’t seem to leave behind
The same helplessness
Disappointment, frustration, which caused him
To begin to attack his wife
Just to feel in control of his life
Who is to blame?

Society as a whole
Everyone wanting to know
Who is responsible for this
This abomination
This crime
This atrocity
For these two people
Living in misery
Everyone asking but
No one ever taking the blame

She sits there
Silently asking us
When are we going to
Help
Will we wait until it becomes
Personal
Until we too are affected by this vicious cycle
Until we find somebody else
To blame