Scars -a bloody unwanted reminder
Writing prompt -Scars
One scar I have is huge – it almost wraps all the way around my upper wrist -it is 2-3 cm wide. Indented, It reminds me of a dried upriver.
The cause?
Domestic violence.
Before I continue…
Domestic abuse & Toxic relationships
Rape -NO means NO.
I’m going to state the obvious here.
Domestic violence is a relationship fucks about with your mental health, whether you love the person or not.
Toxic relationships have usually tipped me over into using shitty coping mechanisms like drinking too much, taking drugs, overdosing and not managing my medication or my eating disorder and Bipolar.
So back to the blood river scar.
One night- no
Another night of heavy drinking and arguing, I found me in a house -not mine- that looked like a slaughterhouse. all dirty browns. There was a rusty scent of blood impossible to ignore.
Every time I inhaled, the scent would drip down the back of my throat like a tap -I could taste it too.
I had mixed copious amounts of alcohol with my medication and all I remember is trying to push my ex away with my left hand ( I am left-handed), he grabbed my arm and I struggled back.
BLACKOUT
An image.
An arm.
a massive shard of re-enforced window glass- barbered- poking out of my right arm.
Another image.
the back of my exes legs and back running up the stairs.
PANIC
BLOOD
DRINK
VODKA
WHERE IS THE ORANGE JUICE?
WHERE IS THE GLASS?
WHERE IS MY EX?
BLOOD
DRIP
BLOOD
DRIP
BLOOD
DRIP
BLOOD
DRIP
PANIC
PANIC
An arm coated thick with blood. I wear it like an accessory
Blood makes noise.
I hear screaming.
Mine.
Ex reappears and tries to grab me.
I try to run away.
PANIC
BLOOD
DRIP
I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE.
Why is my ex naked?
In the middle of the street?
Rolling on the floor with me- trying to muffle my screams with his hand. Trying to stop me from running away…
BLOOD
MIND FUCKERY at its best.
“Look what you have done…” ex says.
6 hours later – location: hospital.
The doctor asks to speak with me in private. My ex doesn’t want to leave my side.
I don’t say anything. quack quack! quack quack! quack quack! the word on a loop…
“What happened?” he wants to know.
“We don’t know. We were drinking. I can’t remember. It was an accident.” my ex speaks for us.
My head bows down,it almost appears as if I am nodding. I can’t quite remember.
What I do remember feels like I have made it up, it is so detached from my mind and emotions. It is about as close to me as Pluto or Saturn.
3 days in hospital my ex never left my side.
Not even to go home to wash or brush his teeth.
I wasn’t alone- my mother was with us too.
I was high on morphine for the pain.
Why didn’t they operate sooner?
Did they want to monitor me?
The situation?
Us?
three days later… I’m being wheeled on the hospital bed- away from the stale, coughing ward…
“countback with me from 10,” says the anaesthetist.
“ 10 , 9 ,8 ……“
BLACKOUT
“1”. my eyes burst open. I gasp a breath. It is like I’ve been living in a homemade sac filled with half shallow water and half air.
Disorientated.
What happened?
I look down at the artwork the surgeon has done.
No more blood.
re-stuffed re-patched, recovered,
by a micro surgical hand.
Discharged.
Back to the carnival freak show.
I enter his home – a massacre.
Dry blood everywhere.
Smell.
Bleach.
Sound.
Scrubbing brushes.
Stubborn blood.
If only it could serve as a reminder of what actually happened that night.
“I don’t remember” the ex says.
How can he and I not know?
Every time I look at my scar I am reminded of the chaos that was my life for 4 years.
This scar says –
mutilation.
despair.
secrets.
emotions numbed.
detachment.
silence.
This scar reminds me to NEVER be silent in the name of so-called love or a sense of loyalty to one who claimed to love me so much he would do anything to keep me.
http://www.vevo.com/watch/suzanne-vega/blood-makes-noise/USIV20300313
When I left him, I did not take his threats seriously.
What he did next gave serious competition with the scar I see.
That everyone can see.
Toxic relationships result in a severe loss – sometimes that means your life.
Think carefully about what and who your life may include.
I was reborn again on the 06/05/2015.
The day the court ordered social services out of my life.
The day that my ex turned his back on me, is the day I realised I had been holding my breath for years.
I had forgotten how to breathe. I might have been dead- a wanderer.
06/05/2015 -I remembered not only how to breathe again but why.
Life -not just my own but that who is of me.
Life is precious
Life is my responsibility
Posted on Jun 10, 2022, in WRITE TO RECOVER and tagged Beliefs, Domestic violence, Emotions, Life, Relationships, writing prompts. Bookmark the permalink. 67 Comments.
Nature love
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https://purebeautyofworld.wordpress.com/
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Thanks for the ping , Premjoshi
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Hey hope you are doing great now. People dont realise the worth of love and they abuse it as if we are a pocession. We are there with you in this.
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Hi,, thanks for asking. I’m a lucky lady. I’ve been harried to a diamond of a man for 7 years on June. We’ve been together for 11 years & I’m very blessed. Thanks for the support.. xx
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I have those scars, too. They are mute evidence of past pain. But they are also like signs you pass on a highway. They show that you kept moving forward, in spite of the accidents you can still see in the rear view mirror. You survived. Your road trip didn’t end prematurely. You are still traveling and I am happy and proud to be on the same road as you.
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Indeed they are mute evidence of the past. I like they way yoiu worded that. That is a great analogy & you are so right. It’s like the saying it’s not the destination : its the journey. Great to meet you & jere is to us moving -always movoing frowards. xxx
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Moving forward is our triumph over those who hurt us. Survival is the best revenge.
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Indeed, Survival is the best revenge as you say. My husband always tells me he wants to live until and old age so he can outlive his enemies. Ha ha! Great. to meet you, Jaenne!
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There is an old Irish saying, ” May those who love us love us. And if they don’t love us, may God turn their hearts. And if he cannot turn their heart, may he turn their ankles, so we know them by their limping.”
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Ha ha! That’s a 👏 brilliant saying.
I didn’t see that ending coming.
We reap what we sow and I’ve had to change my perspective and actions many times.
Thanks for reading 📚.
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Thanks for the share.
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Truth . It’s the only word I can use for this. Very relatable as well. Toxic relationships are hard to leave, always leaves us with a scar, an emotional scar. I wish for your happiness as well. You will always have yourself to help you heal and all the scars will turn into a beautiful treasure that taught you the unteachable lessons of life ! 🙂
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That is so true we can only try and help ourselves.
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Great post 😄
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Thanks so much for taking the time to read it.
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No problem 🙂 check out my blog when you get the chance 😄
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❤ to you…
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thank you xxx
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What a story, and what bravery to share. I’m so awful that you’ve lived through such awful things. But things change! You’re getting married! Don’t get too bogged down in the past, yeah? Your future could be more beautiful than you can even imagine.
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😀 ❤ xx
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Wow. What a story. I’m sorry you had to live through that. I must honestly say that I lived in a community where, for some reason, there was a lot of domestic violence. I had to drive more than a few of my employees to the hospital or a shelter. In my head I would always get angry. Why didn’t they just leave? However, when I moved to Los Angeles I landed myself into a violent, dangerous three year relationship that I tried to save at any cost. I understand now.
It’s good to see that you were finally able to break free from that environment.
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you sound like a good man to help these people. People just don’t want to talk about abuse- it is so common in our society. It’s expected! People don’t understand than men can abuse and so can woman. I’m glad you are out of an abusive relationship . You come across as a kind man and deserve to be treated with respect. 🙂 thanks for reading 🙂
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So incredibly powerful. This has me in knots. Thank you for sharing and I look forward to reading more of your work!
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Someday you should compile this stuff in a book. I know it is graphic, but it shows what a person can live through, and not only survive, but find a way to thrive in, in the aftermath.
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A book? I don’t know maybe – someday.. .. so far my life does kind of have a happy ending. Or at least the ending of my choices – I think snippets are manageable at this point in time but thanks for thinking I could do this and possibly should 🙂
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I did. It’s cathartic. 🙂
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oooooh really! what is it called? You have my full attention 🙂
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oh wow! what can I say ? thank you for stopping by and just reading what I have to write. Erm. I am honoured. I hope the knots don’t last. I don’t want you to feel negative 🙂
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powerful post.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post 🙂
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Reblogged this on A Thomas Point of View and commented:
A must read.
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thank you 🙂
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Wow! This is so powerful Daisy. Thank you so much for sharing.
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thanks for reading and re blogging
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I know that I dont know you, but I am proud of you! You have come far. My mom, in her second marriage, was abused. I dont know how many times I drove her (at 12, 13, 14 yrs of age) to the hospital after a major argument/beating by my now ex-stepfather. Thank God she is away from him, but it is a constant struggle for her every day. You are so strong!!
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wow! that sounds pretty traumatic. My late aunt was never diagnosed but she defo had wife beating syndrome. I’m glad she is away from him too. It is soul destroying. That must have traumatised you as a teenager. You say I am strong! well, I don’t know you either but what you did for Ma takes epic courage xxx
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hehehe He got scared of me when I threatened him with an iron skillet one night. I was probably 13 at that time. It is soul destroying and my hubby has never been around anyone who survived it until my mom. Its been hard for him to understand, but he understands why I am the way I am about certain things now. Everything that happens is what makes us who we are today. No regrets!
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no no regrets. I came from an abusive home and we (me and my Ma) actually laugh about the time I took a knife out to her ex and accidentally caught him in-between his thumb and index finger- hit a vein – it looked worse than it was but he was being such a asshole. I paid for it. He ended up trying to choke me and my Ma saved the day. We looked out for each other.. But he had to go so I had to devious and find ways to make sure he stayed out. When I finally convinced my Ma he was wrong for her. We were coming back from somewhere and we passed this mall that we had to get home. There was the fire ambulance people and a crowd all looking at the top of the mall roof. It was ex threatening to kill himself- he was as drunk as a skunk – But yes. No regrets. Me and my Ma have such a strong bond. She is my best friend 🙂
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Sometimes writing without a plan can end in the most powerful works: this is one of those times.
Wow. That’s all I could say when I finished reading. Domestic violence is not something that I’ve ever been through so I can’t pretend to understand, but the honesty in this post brings me one step closer to being better able to empathize with people who are stuck in these places.
Thank you for sharing such a personal and painful story with the world. These kinds of stories are key to shining a light on the issue and preventing it from happening again and again and again.
You are so STRONG for getting through that.
Xo
Ayla
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Thanks Ayla. It is never okay to abuse someone but when abuse does start happening and the boundaries get blurred and alcohol and drugs feature things can get bad. I knoW I tried to fight back many times especially when I had a black outs. It was like all the abuse I was keeping inside and all the pain I felt I would wait until I drank and then I would feel strong enough and brave enough to lash out. THANKS for the thumbs up for my writing style. I tend to do this with all my writing. I am not a planner Thanks for your support as always :0 x
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Proud of you for being strong enough to leave the relationship. A powerful post!
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Well it was either my daughter or him -so ……………….. 😀 Thank you for reading and commentin gand giving your opinion. It means more than you will ever know. 🙂
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I echo the sentiments of the others… Super powerful post. Wow. I am glad that you are out of that situation and have your feet back on solid ground. Whew…. ❤
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Thanks Meg. Yeah me too 😀 That relationship sucked big time 😀 bit I do get to live happily ever after and I have a good man in my life. We are best friends and true soul mates. He is the first man inn my life to show me how a man should treat a woman and teach me how a woman should treat a man . thanks for reading and the feedback 🙂 xx
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You’re welcome! I’m so glad you found your soul mate. You deserve a happy ending! 😘
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thanks Meg 🙂 me too 😀
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aaw thanks Meg. 🙂 xx
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Powerful, intense ! I felt it all !!!
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thank you Lynne x
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What an incredibly powerful post. Raw, honest and brutally graphic. I’m so glad that you got out of the situation. There’s a powerful message here for everyone to hear, thanks for sharing your story Daisy. You’re a brave woman.
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thank you for reading Miriam. I’m glad I am out of that situation too 😀
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I bet you are Daisy. Take care. 🙂
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xxx
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Daisy, I cried and cried this morning. Tears of gratitude to have inspired you to speak out. Tears that someone else has suffered and tears for those many who suffer. My one scar sounds as deep as yours. The one visible one that is the biggest anyway. Sad that we have this in common but you made me feel not so alone this morning because I dreamed of my abuser which happens often after 25years in the relationship who would not still dream. Not good dreams either. Anway, I have only had 2 sips of coffee Dasiy so excuse my babble. Thank you again for the honor of the inspiration even know it is such a bleak subject it needed to be told.
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Oh Annette. I’m sorry if I have upset you. I can’t imagine 25 years of abuse. Our scars are proof that we have lived. They tell our story and I am not ashamed and neither should you be. xxxx
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You did not upset me at all really was a great comment my dear friend. Thank you!
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Reblogged this on Annette's place and commented:
What an honor to be someone’s inspiration to write from the heart. The subject matter may be a taboo still but people like us that speak out do not want it to happen to another soul. Thank you for your wonderful post!
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thank you
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This was graphic…and exactly what we need to see to understand how important it is to kill the silence. It’s always the deafening silence that needs to be given first priority. Always. Glad you rose above this Daisy.
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Thanks Deb xxx
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This was heavy, Daisy. Thank you for sharing your truth. Your post was a like a graphic novel-form poem. I could really feel your pain and disorientation. On another note, “Blood Makes Noise” reminds me of the Suzanne Vega song, which I haven’t heard in about a million years.
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Sorry .A bit early in the morning for heavy shit . You got me. Love that song and it totally inspired my title 🙂 xxx thanks for reading . Think I will add it to this post. People need to hear the song 🙂
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thank you
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