they wanted numbers, they wanted names
she stood there watching it go up in flames
they said it was a breakdown, descent in to madness
but no one ever grasped the depth of her sadness
and how quick a candle could start a fire
carefully placed near a faulty wire
she stands there, both eyes black
the straw that broke the camels back
when he threw her down the stairs last night
ten years she's spent trying to avoid the fight
the hands that hold her down
that push and pull and slap her around
too far gone, she felt she had no use
it was all her fault, every incident of abuse
something she did, to provoke him that way
on her knees every night trying to pray
that this would stop, it would end
no family, not a single friend
just the loneliness that tears her apart
too long living with a broken heart
when love should never be like this
hard hands, empty words, sealed with a kiss
and a promise it'll never happen again
well this time it won't.