Black-Eyed Susan

Black eyed Susan hides her face ashamed.
She’d rather stay at home alone,
And suffer through the pain.

Her husband strikes and then tries to atone,
Promising not to hit again,
This time he broke her bones.

Her friends try telling her she ought to end,
A marriage years in making,
But she knows not how or when.

Her heart hurts more than her body aching,
“Once last time”, she tells herself,
Yet can’t control the flood of tears or her body shaking.

The coroner puts her cold body on the shelf,
He wonders why another victim had to die.
“Why did she not care more for herself?”

As he shuts the drawer the world again begins to cry.


by Rodney Alan Crater
Copyright ©2007 Rodney Alan Crater