That Fateful Night
He held me close that fateful night,
We sang and danced without worry or fright.
I laughed and giggled, and yet I knew,
The rage would be there when we were through.
I looked into his eyes and saw laughter and play,
And yet I still wonder about that endless day.
When the music stopped it was time to go home,
I started walking out, but not all alone.
I glanced both ways before crossing the street,
I looked at him , our eyes were never to meet.
I saw a stout, young man looking my way,
I felt ashamed and looked quickly away.
I felt his grip tighten around my hand,
I had angered this big, muscular man.
He brought me across and led me to the car,
I knew in my mind, I had gone too far.
"Does he look better?" he finally said,
I looked at him and shook my head.
What did I do to anger my spouse?
Why did he think me such a louse?
He asked me that question again and again,
Like a preacher who's looking for deadly sins.
I kept saying no and no, time after time,
What did I do to anger this husband of mine?
He finally struck me after endless waiting,
I strangely thought of when we started dating.
He didn't drink or smoke or swear,
He never even knew how much I cared.
"Wait 'til we get home," he said as I cried.
I wanted to get to the world outside.
I wanted to hide from his hurting hands,
I wanted to leave, and started making plans.
He saw me thinking and slapped me hard,
I started praying he wouldn't go too far.
We finally got home after that long drive,
The child's lock was locked on my side.
I couldn't get out of the car through that door,
So I crawled over the shift stick and onto the floor.
He reached in and tried to wrench me out,
I kept trying to find the handle as I tried to shout.
I finally found the handle and crawled to the ground,
I started running to hide and not to be found.
He ran after me and screamed and called my name,
I kept running and thought I could outrun his game.
I ran to my neighbor's house and quickly ran inside,
I told him what was happening and he told me to hide.
I ran to the bathroom, locked the door, and hid,
I saw no window so I could see exactly what he did.
I heard a gun being loaded and then cocked back,
I knew whose gun it was and knew who was at lack.
My husband beat angrily at the front door, yelling,
His force and tone of voice was not compelling.
I heard another voice ring out through the night,
I had barely heard his voice, but knew his face by sight.
"What do you want?" he simply asked my husband,
"Just give her to me," was the last thing I heard, and
then...
The big, wooden door banged open so loudly it echoed,
I jumped so high, or that's what my shadow showed.
I heard thrashing about coming from the living room,
I huddled in a ball to where I couldn't even move.
Three shots rang out that moonless and starlit night,
And there I was, in a bathroom, huddled in fright.
I heard a rapping at the tall bathroom door,
"Who is it?" I asked helplessly, from the floor.
"He's dead, I shot him," said my friendly neighbor's voice,
"He flew at me, I shot at him, I had no other choice."
I rose to my feet and slowly opened the door,
Thankful that I need not worry anymore.
He threw his arms around me as I started to cry,
I thought of many things, like how was I going to get by.
I thought of my mother and how she wouldn't care,
I thought of how I called that monster "Baby Bear".
This man told me of how he had known about the abuse,
He stood by his window and listened, but felt no use.
He thought I wouldn't want him to intervene,
He didn't know how good that really seemed.
He called the authorities as I tried to lie down,
I started to smile at the thought of having no sound.
No sound of yelling or fighting anymore,
My neighbor would never again hear screaming next
door.
I went and lived with my mother after that,
I placed, next to my bed, a baseball bat.
I never went to my husband's wake,
Neither did his mother, for her own sake.
I simply ran that fateful night,
I only ran with simple fright.
Yet now I'm glad for what has happened,
And I pray that it may never happen again.
He held me close that fateful night,
We sang and danced without worry or fright.
I laughed and giggled, and yet I knew,
The rage would be there when we were through.
I looked into his eyes and saw laughter and play,
And yet I still wonder about that endless day.
When the music stopped it was time to go home,
I started walking out, but not all alone.
I glanced both ways before crossing the street,
I looked at him , our eyes were never to meet.
I saw a stout, young man looking my way,
I felt ashamed and looked quickly away.
I felt his grip tighten around my hand,
I had angered this big, muscular man.
He brought me across and led me to the car,
I knew in my mind, I had gone too far.
"Does he look better?" he finally said,
I looked at him and shook my head.
What did I do to anger my spouse?
Why did he think me such a louse?
He asked me that question again and again,
Like a preacher who's looking for deadly sins.
I kept saying no and no, time after time,
What did I do to anger this husband of mine?
He finally struck me after endless waiting,
I strangely thought of when we started dating.
He didn't drink or smoke or swear,
He never even knew how much I cared.
"Wait 'til we get home," he said as I cried.
I wanted to get to the world outside.
I wanted to hide from his hurting hands,
I wanted to leave, and started making plans.
He saw me thinking and slapped me hard,
I started praying he wouldn't go too far.
We finally got home after that long drive,
The child's lock was locked on my side.
I couldn't get out of the car through that door,
So I crawled over the shift stick and onto the floor.
He reached in and tried to wrench me out,
I kept trying to find the handle as I tried to shout.
I finally found the handle and crawled to the ground,
I started running to hide and not to be found.
He ran after me and screamed and called my name,
I kept running and thought I could outrun his game.
I ran to my neighbor's house and quickly ran inside,
I told him what was happening and he told me to hide.
I ran to the bathroom, locked the door, and hid,
I saw no window so I could see exactly what he did.
I heard a gun being loaded and then cocked back,
I knew whose gun it was and knew who was at lack.
My husband beat angrily at the front door, yelling,
His force and tone of voice was not compelling.
I heard another voice ring out through the night,
I had barely heard his voice, but knew his face by sight.
"What do you want?" he simply asked my husband,
"Just give her to me," was the last thing I heard, and
then...
The big, wooden door banged open so loudly it echoed,
I jumped so high, or that's what my shadow showed.
I heard thrashing about coming from the living room,
I huddled in a ball to where I couldn't even move.
Three shots rang out that moonless and starlit night,
And there I was, in a bathroom, huddled in fright.
I heard a rapping at the tall bathroom door,
"Who is it?" I asked helplessly, from the floor.
"He's dead, I shot him," said my friendly neighbor's voice,
"He flew at me, I shot at him, I had no other choice."
I rose to my feet and slowly opened the door,
Thankful that I need not worry anymore.
He threw his arms around me as I started to cry,
I thought of many things, like how was I going to get by.
I thought of my mother and how she wouldn't care,
I thought of how I called that monster "Baby Bear".
This man told me of how he had known about the abuse,
He stood by his window and listened, but felt no use.
He thought I wouldn't want him to intervene,
He didn't know how good that really seemed.
He called the authorities as I tried to lie down,
I started to smile at the thought of having no sound.
No sound of yelling or fighting anymore,
My neighbor would never again hear screaming next
door.
I went and lived with my mother after that,
I placed, next to my bed, a baseball bat.
I never went to my husband's wake,
Neither did his mother, for her own sake.
I simply ran that fateful night,
I only ran with simple fright.
Yet now I'm glad for what has happened,
And I pray that it may never happen again.