Just Another Day

• Ella-marie Hobman
• Poetry
• 2008

Today is just another day
Of baseball in the lounge room
Dad’s pitching
Mum’s bating
He shouts at her
For the smallest things
He throws things
Trying to hurt her
Her body is covered
In bruises large and small
I walk past them
Trying not to cry
I wish I was able
To scream and shout at them
Just to tell them
Time out; it’s time to stop
But I keep my silence
Like ever other day
I shuffle silently
Up the stairs
I sit upon my bed
Listening to the never ending screams
Suddenly the screaming stops
Replaced by the sound of laughter
I run downstairs
And go into the lounge room
He was standing there laughing
Looking down at her
She was lying there on the floor
Cuts all over her arms
Next to her was a broken vase
Shattered into pieces
I start to cry
And run over to dad
I draw back my fist
And bring it back colliding into his face
It was his turn to be hurt
I help mum up
And take her up to my room
I get a wet cloth
And clean the cuts
I leave her on the bed
And run back downstairs
Dads still standing there
A hand on his face
He looked at me
With a mixture of surprise and anger
Today the day
I end my silence
I open my mouth
And tell him he is an arsehole
I tell him
He doesn’t deserve love
His look changes
To one of surprise
This is the first time I’ve spoken
Since many months ago
I go back upstairs
And call an ambulance
Tonight was the end
Of a long nightmare
It started with a baseball game
And ended in divorce