When I was a young girl
I told myself
I wanted someone to hurt me so badly
to break me so tangibly
that they would see the error of their ways
and never revert to them again.

I never expected this wish to be granted.

Here I am, a woman grown,
who has had her sensitivities
neglected
pushed aside
forgotten
by the men whom she holds closest to her heart.
I trust
and I know the risk
but I trust
and when my heart is hurt
my anxieties prodded
I trust
that they've seen me beaten,
defeated,
pushed to the point of tears
by their own hands.

May my injuries prove the necessity for these boys
to become men.