We’re the ones who welcome
The rising sun with unspoken questions
Should we leave should we stay?
Should we give should we ask?
Should we be grateful?
Should we complain?
Because marriage hasn’t been paradise
And promises became autonyms
Hearts have since grown colder
And lips bolder
They speak what they want
They tell of the mistakes that was
“Having kids was a mistake”
“Marrying you was a mistake”
So she slept on my bed
And drew the boundary
Do not even touch me
You’ll never own me
Coitus?
I’ll have it with men of substance
So I count the many times:
I resisted an attempt to hit her
I mopped her vomit off the floor
I sang lullabies so our children
Wouldn’t see her drunk
I checked my bank account
Just to know if it guaranteed a future
Without her
Now my children know their father is no man at all
Because every night they hear he say so
Sliver of Darkness 
Married for 40 cumulative years to two different women (18 and 22 yrs respectively), the reaction to marital abuse is the same. Gleaning insight from your About section, I don’t wonder why you stayed. Or stay? Those children of yours are you. The marriage option, so you thought, was the solution to your historic dilemma. Most long-term marriages (now defined as seven years or more, one party-goer casually said to me) are not solutions, but work. My parents were married to the end. Over fifty years. Too daunting a challenge for me, a sprinter and not a marathoner.
Nice feel and rhythm. Good flow from step down to step down. The emotion, stark as it is, comes through.
Some editing needed, and perhaps consideration of word choice in a couple of places.
Congratulations.
LSM
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Thank you so much for your priceless input. I don’t take it for granted. It’s by sharing our challenges that we know we aren’t alone in the mess we’re in. Marriage as it, is a great challenge: with spouses off in offices working to put something on the table. Or others neglecting their responsibilities to stick to the pleasures of youth, there’s rarely time to rekindle the old flame. And yes, people endure each other till death/money do them apart!
I’m glad you noted I hadn’t edited this poem! I rarely spot these typos until I have posted them here. Such a pity!
Thanks and Welcome for more!
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Beautiful and heart-wrenching.
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Thanks for the read Vashti
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It was a pleasure. Thanks for the follow. 🙂 xx
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Welcome..It’s a good blog you’ve got there
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I’m thinking of rising for the Haiku Challenge nxt Friday
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