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Free Verse

the pain beneath the surface


there is a lot of things,
that you dont know.
how loudly the nightmare sings,
planting seeds of horror in a row.
 
trying to sleep through each night,
tossing, turning, shrieking, crying.
ashamed to wake from the recurring fright,
i swear i know, i can feel you prying.
 
eyes shooting around like stars,
never fully believing you’re gone.
the memories dance in repeated bars,
i wish more than anything to just move-on.
 
if words could make up for what you did,
im sure id still hope you end in hell.
did you even know i was just a kid,
if only i had the power to yell.
 
your touch still lingers on my face,
the way you touched me to undress.
healing takes too long, its like a race
maybe, i should’ve just said ‘yes’.
 
sometimes i feel im like a ghost,
waiting, praying for a purpose.
i fear those i trust the most,
‘sorry’ to hide the pain below the surface.
 
 
knuckles pressing down my throat,
convulsing, choking, clawing for an exit.
each motion echoing the memory of your coat,
im only trying to cleanse it.
 
when the last of light sleeps,
the noise declines to a soft hymn.
you know that danger only ever creeps,
marking cries of strength across my limbs.
 
you didnt even ask my name,
never once had a rational thought.
you allowed me to sit in my own shame,
leaving me shaken and distraught.
 
worst of all you hurt me,
and that pain was so real.
stole a part of me that doesnt get to be,
how much of me did you steal?
 
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This Poem's Voice

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PersonalThemeAbstract

Deeply personal trauma narrative, autobiographical abuse disclosure

SparseMeasureDense

Dense layering of trauma imagery, multiple ideas per stanza

DarkSentimentBright

Intensely negative: abuse, shame, pain, loss throughout

StillEnergyExplosive

Visceral verbs: shrieking, clawing, convulsing, explosive emotional intensity

MicroLengthEpic

Approximately 56 lines across ten stanzas

PlainFigurativeOrnamented

Rich metaphors: ghost, dance, hymn, cleanse; personification of trauma

LyricVoiceDramatic

Pure lyric first-person internal voice addressing traumatic memory

Free Verseelegyidentityprotestspiritualmetaphorpersonificationrepetitionalliterationenjambment

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