Authored: October 8, 2016

Behind the curtains,
Away from media,
There is an army of the silent
Silently in pain, battling away
Depressed, alone, sad
These are societies forgotten.

Victims of circumstance
Victims of nefarious souls
They pay their monies seeking solace
Seeking anything to dull their pain
Some turn to drugs
Others to drink
And the few drop out totally, alone on the streets.

There is no way to the light at the end of the tunnel
If one cannot see it
Imagine having that tunnel rock by rock,
Slowly sealed by venom and illusion.

The victims seek redemption
And understanding of the why and what...

Violence does not limit itself to one gender
Venom circumnavigates the brain of the damaged
A shrouded maelstrom
Underlying the pain of a childhood of trauma
Yet it has manifested into its own painful continuum.

I feel for the victims, as I have been one.
Behind the stories of violence against women
Which is wrong by any score
There are those men who suffer almost alone
Victims of an unimaginable abuse
That is not physical but nonetheless destroying.

We were prey to predators
Victims of the nefarious
Away from media
Behind the curtains
We only have ourselves....