I have to read the first line imitating John Wayne. If I don't then I can't read the piece because this is a very touchy subject to me. Evenso, I want to read your poem, tough first line and all, because this is a subject that is well worth bringing up, the more it's brought up perhaps the more accountable folks will be around it.
It actually used to be okay and acceptable for a male to say something like the first line of Lrod's poem. Women used to accept it! It made some women feel loved for their man to speak of them that way! We have come a long way on this terribly important yet to this day unspeakable issue.
How many times I have been in a room full of women, reacting to a woman's story of domestic violence. The reactions are fairly surprizing, the percentage of women that will shrug and say, hey, that's the way it is, or the ones who will say get away from it right now. In an ideal world there would be no hesitation for a woman to get out, but the reality is that women don't, in fact they feel they can't. Who will pay the rent, who will feed the children, I can't do this alone, etc, etc, etc.
So maybe the woman who won't leave is a criminal too? I dunno. I do know that a poem like this could be the start of some really good conversation, and some enlightenment could be drawn from it, because regardless of anything else, it puts a subject out there that most would rather ignore.
I think Doreen's offense is understandable and a good example of how to react to the subject, it isn't funny. Sometimes though, I also think, that to open a doorway for difficult subjects, a lightness of approach is also an understandable way to do it.
This poem gave me an involuntary jerk. And the first thing I thought was, "lrod lrod lrod, there you go again, putting your foot in it..." But that was me, not wanting to go there. So I put on my best John Wayne imitation and broke through that uncomfortable first line.
This Poem needs work, alot more sensitivity, but it's a strong piece with a strong subject and that's a good thing.
H
). As I experienced it, it is more like tai-chi with a partner with axis in the heart plus music despite sometimes the lyrics. I wonder, have you tried it? 
