Hearing and Knowing

The belt lashes and your skin breaks
Along with your heart
A piece at a time plap!
Your face floods with tears and sadness
You can only hang your head
Being whipped like a dog who stole his master’s meal
You feel less than even that
Only whimper or they will know
Not that it matters
He is talking loud enough
And the sound is unmistakable
Plap!
And they know

She comes to see
Confused
But then again, not
This is a replay
Same movie, same outcome, same anger plap!
New set of tears
But she is not cowering like the others
She watches

You don’t notice
As you hold yourself tightly
To cover your bare breasts and protect the woman within
Even if you can’t protect the woman without
Your shoulder is the only blurred thing in your line of vision
One of two that jerks with every lash
About once a week
She only wonders
Why you still have on your hose and panties
This time
Before she walks away, aware
And determined

So when you learn of her eyes
Being on fire with no tears to quench
Lips pursed, nostrils flared, body tensed and ready
Eyebrows raised at the man she calls
Husband
You know why
And six three, two seventy five means nothing to her
Both your regret and greatest pride is that you chose flight
While she chose the other path
And will never know the sound of leather on her skin