Blue and partly broken
man has taken her flower
made a poison of sex
before she ever had a chance
to bloom
on the vine
in the sun
∇
but no worries,
“her injuries are minor”
sexual abuse
Down to the Zero of Myself
(2009)
for Eve Ensler
(writer/creator of “The Vagina Monologues,” “The Good Body,” V-Day, an international effort to stop violence against women, and a survivor of physical violence by her father.
Based on a piece called “Down to the Zero of Myself” from the book “Insecure at Last” by Eve Ensler.
down to the zero of myself
here all alone
abandoned
somewhere on the road
you are
in the depths of emptiness
as it washes and breaks
over you
lost, unremembered
no existence
down to the zero
reduced by your father
to zero,
his hands, his fists
his belt, his words
down to the shame
down to the emptiness
inside you
down to the zero
the huge inner room
gapes and yawns
to swallow you
into the inner reality,
a terrible place
all the things you did
all you were willing to do
to change, to fill it
nothing changed
it would not go away
until
now
swimming at last,
in the center
swimming at last
in the center
of your soul,
beautiful.
~ Kate
Artists4Peace 