By Rosemarie Wilson | Contributor, U.S. –

My soul ached every time dad whooped on ma.

The second time I saw him hit her,

I vowed to never love a man who raises his hands at me.

I heard my dad tell my mom,

“I’ll never hit you again, baby,”

5,011 times.

I spent 14 years,

physically untouched,

emotionally scarred,

spiritually deceased

and

mentally drained.

I’ve been where I am but can’t believe I’m still here, living in fear.

All summer long

my man quoted my dad’s line to me

as he washed my blood,

his sweat

and my salty tears from my face.

I don’t expect his recitations will reach hundreds,

but we were well past 50 in December.

I wouldn’t be caught in the same rut

if I hadn’t been raised as a slave to the one two checkup.

Three fingers point at me when my indexes point at another.

I have choices.

The promise I made to myself

became entrapped within the universal front of my man’s handsome face,

his swift tongue

and the couple dollars he throws my way.

I love me some him,

but I should love on me some me!

My tomorrows were squandered yesterday

as I live each moment stuck within sour times.

I’ve lost more than I care to remember.

Mom courageously left dad when her sister was killed by her husband.

They tried to save each other.

If Aunt Addie were here,

I know she’d sing to me what she sang to my mom every day,

“Why would you stay?”

©2012

Rosemarie Wilson aka One Single Rose

All Rights Reserved

This poem was sent to Heartmenders Magazine by Rosemarie Wilson in 2015 and was published in print and online, and republished in 2026.

Rosemarie Wilson is an American poet, actress, singer, writer, and traveler. From Detroit, Michigan, she studied at Cass Technical High School, West Virginia University, and Davenport University, and earned a degree in Business Management from Davenport University. Rosemarie is the first poet to be filmed in Motown’s infamous Studio A, the first Motown Mic Performance Artist of the Year, and a Container Season 2 music pillar resident and Wisdom Institute’s 2026 Poet in Residence. She was one of the early contributors to Heartmenders Magazine. To know more about her works, visit www.onesinglerose.com.

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