2017 Poetry & Storytelling Competition Volume 2 | Page 23

No sir, my friend.

No more beatdowns, sit downs and low-down dirty lay downs.

Ella is putting on her big girl pants, she’s praying that the elastic and her resolve

are strong.

Ella is walking with the newness of the son, that’s the S.O.N., the one and only.

Ella is a strong tower that bends in the night.

She will no longer be a voice not heard in the silence.

Ella is significant.

Statistics on domestic violence:

Intimate partner violence is a crime that largely affects women. In 1999, women accounted for 85% of the victims of intimate partner violence. On average, a woman will leave a abusive relationship seven times before she leaves for good. Ncadv.org (National statistics on Domestic Violence)