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He said he loves me so it must be in my mind This is how he shows his love The other night when he kicked me down from behind His job is stressful he does not mean harm It is only venting Un-consented touching, calling me names, twisting my arm I cannot say I understand Yet it is how he deals This is nothing, I will withstand He does not want anyone to know When I asked why not, he replied I would keep quiet if I love him because he loves me And so the bruises and scars, I will not show I deserve it, I was busy soothing our baby, and it sounds simple, but I burned his toast He has a stressful job it is the least I can allow him to do But if he loves me, why do these thoughts haunt me like a ghost Is this part of a normal relationship No, I should not question his love At work I could not completely hide my busted lip They asked me who, what, where, when, why, and how I told them it is nothing I just an accident I do not know where to turn, but I want out of this fear right now It was not always like this We used to be inseparable until he knew he had me trapped in marriage Before he showed this side of him, the worst he would do is give me a kiss While at the pediatrician, I read informational pamphlets to pass the time Then I came across the warning signs of domestic violence I went through the checklist six times and realized I am a victim of this hidden crime Isolation, control, demands These are not part of a healthy relationship, they are abuse This is not okay; I will not take it anymore I have lived in denial for too long This relationship has turned from love into a war Keeping me away from my friends and family and the physical harm induced with his hands If he finds out I am questioning him All of the joys are over, he will leave me, or worse he will kill me This change must happen to save the baby’s life and my own; this is not some random whim Three years ago we promised each other until death do us part I fear that is imminent What hurts more than the fresh wounds is my heart I can no longer hold off fleeing; soon it will be too late While he went out to buy his Camels I accepted that I do not deserve this; no one deserves this kind of hate We are getting out of this, we have to My coworker helped me pack the baby’s bag and took me in The other things do not matter because I made it out; I am one of the few