Domestic Violence

The door slams closed,
and in that second, she knows.
Her hands shake and tremble with fear,
as she hears his footsteps drawing near.
Unshed tears line her lids,
and she suddenly wishes she wasn't a kid.
He strides into the room and starts calling her bad names.
Is there ever gonna be a day when he won't make her feel ashamed?
She tries to apologize, but his eyes are already glazed;
she knows he's seeing everything within a red rage.
Before she can move, or even has a chance to react,
his hands are coming toward her, and she braces herself for the attack.
He grabs a handful of her hair and throws her against the wall.
She opens her mouth to scream and finds she can't speak at all.
But still he pursues her, and his knuckles find her face.
He loosens his hold on her hair suddenly, and she slides down the wall in place.
She rolls over and crawls down the hall slowly, her eyes swollen half open,
feeling bones grind painfully because he has broken them.
He allows her to go but a few meager steps,
then he goes over to her and makes good on his previous threats.
Thumping sounds resound as fists meet flesh.
Only a gasp escapes her lips when she takes her last breath.
The anger then winds down into a roaring silence.
The sad thing is, this is only one case of domestic violence.