i
Bride happy and willing
Groom (fingers crossed)
Do you solemnly swear
To love and honour
I do, I do (fingers crossed)
To support each other
I do, I do (fingers crossed)
So long as you both shall live
I do, I do (so long as she obeys only me)
And for the first while happiness
With a wee bit of dig
Minor insults followed
By insincere but sincerely received promises
And half truths
Conqueror exercising domain
Over this woman
She once so strong, so able, so capable
Where did it all go so very wrong
And why
She knows what is happening
Knows what has happened
Yet stuck in this trance
This commitment of force
She soldiers on
Till it breaks
Her dignity permanently bruised
She leaves
His abuse and derision grows stronger
She cannot be whole without him he states
She will be a failure she is told
The names she is called
The lies to diminish her
His abuse complete and continued
His failure the undoing
She breaks broken to be free
ii
The flowers are raised to be uniform
In colour, stature, and height
Their beauty goes on and on
Yet here and there a defect shows
Single poppies rise above all others
How dare they break rank
How dare they show their beauty
Who do they think they are
The grower will cut these to size
All those he cannot mold compliant to his norm
They are not worthy of his care
So they must be banished through control
These flowers that are the most beautiful
These flowers that are first to receive
The cool spring breezes
The gentle rains
The warm sun
And the first caress of the bees
Long live the bravest, the ones who break free
Long live this most beautiful creation
Long live the tallest poppy
Long live the beauty that is you dear woman…
