WITH NO IMMEDIATE CAUSE
–Ntozake Shange
every 3 minutes a woman is beaten
every five minutes a
woman is raped/every ten minutes
a lil girl is molested
yet i rode the subway today
i sat next to an old man who
may have beaten his old wife
3 minutes ago or 3 days/30 years ago
he might have sodomized his
daughter but i sat there
cuz the young men on the train
might beat some young women
lat4r in the day or tomorrow
i might not shut my door fast
enuf/push hard enuf
every 3 minutes it happens
some woman’s innocense
rushes to her cheeks/pours from her mouth
like the betsy wetsy dolls have been torn
apart/their mouths
menses red & split/every
three minutes a shoulder
is jammed through plaster and the oven door/
chairs push thru the rib cage/hot water or
boiling sperm decorate her body
i rode the subway
today
& bought a paper from a
man who might
have held his old lady onto
a hot pressing iron/i don’t know
maybe he catches lil girls in the
park and rips open their behinds
with steel rods/i can’t decide
what he might have done i only
know every 3 minutes
every 5 minutes every 10 minutes/so
i bought the paper
looking for the announcement
the discovery/of the dismembered
woman’s body/the
victims have not all been
identified/today they are
naked and dead/refuse to
testify/one girl out of 10’s not
coherent/i took the coffee
& spit it up/i found an
announcement/not the woman’s
bloated body in the river/floating
not the child bleeding in the
59th street corridor/not the baby
broken on the floor/
“there is some concern
that alleged battered women
might start to murder their
husbands & lovers with no
immediate cause”
i spit up i vomit i am screaming
we all have immediate cause
every 3 minutes
every 5 minutes
every 10 minutes
idealisticrebel 
shocking, yet sadly true. thanks for sharing this and creating greater awareness on this issue.
I began working in Domestic Violence in the 70’s. The Silent Scream. It was a grass roots effort. We saved many lives. Hugs, Barbara
That’s a remarkable way to contribute towards society 🙂 Sending you many smiles!
Oh the humanity!!!!
Humanity is capable of many horrors such as the Holocaust, or beating a woman as badly she requires hospitalization. Humanity can also be capable of much kindness, compassion and generosity. Hugs, Barbara
Hear Hear! Well said… Yet they always go back to their abuser as did the woman I went to help in Atlanta… Go figure..
They average going back seven times. They go back because of fear, more women are killed leaving than at any other time in their relationship. They frequently suffer emotional abuse along with the physical abuse. This leaves her without self-esteem, money, contacts. He would have kept her isolated from friends and family. No support system except with the women who work at the shelter. Hugs, Barbara
Totally sad…
Violence in any form is horrible. Hugs, Barbara
Disgusting! Alleged? Hard to believe you are talking about America. It sounds like a third world prison.
I wish you were right. Domestic Violence has existed in America since the Mayflower. They brought it with them. Men have always felt they owned women and it was their right to punish them. It was legal to beat your wife fore correctional purposes as long as he used nothing thicker than his thumb. America, like all countries has been rife with violence against women and children. Hugs, Barbara
very shocking….
Yes shocking and real. That is its horror. Hugs, Barbara
You have described the fear so well. As I read it my fear became palpable once again! Excellent!
Women should not have to live in violence and fear. Hugs, Barbara