Husband-beater (possibly incomplete poem)
I made my wedding vows- for better or for worse,
But If I don’t run, my wife will drive my hearse.
How can I say “She loves me, she loves me not”?
When I see the answer before her warning shot.
I fall onto one knee, and she kicks me to the floor
My love becomes a burden, a pain I can’t ignore.
Her anger is rose-red, each nail a sharpened thorn,
Paralysed by sadness, my skin and heart are torn.
My children hear my screaming, the draining of my life.
Neighbours hear it too, and think that Daddy beats his wife.
40% of domestic abuse victims are men, and they are twice as likely as women to stay silent yet the Government funding to tackle it extends to only one helpline. 1 in 5 male victims are themselves arrested, sometimes leaving children alone with the abusive partner.
