Published by Joseph Osel in The Commonline Journal, Issue #37.  Thank you, Joseph.

Storm

He hears,

Raging,

Howling,

Thunderous bellowing.

He feels,

Slamming,

Wet,

Splashing,

On eyes and face.

He sees,

Bright lights

Flashing behind his eyes,

Sudden darkness.

The sound of sirens,

Screaming.

He awakens in an ambulance,

Remembers the savage beating

He endured

At the hands of an abusive father

When the storm came.

Creating "Storm"

Males are less likely to report abuse.  Sometimes, though, they have no choice but to seek help.

Afterthoughts for "Storm"

One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any man, however much we have suffered from him.

Socrates

The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder.

Jim Morrison 

This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.

Leonard Bernstein