Crushed Roses

A bouquet of fresh roses
an offer of a hand
A smile that could melt my heart
though I didn't understand ~
Eyes that twinkled by the light
somehow could not reflect
The promise of what was to come,
the night I would regret.

Petals by the open door
shards of broken glass
Tearstains on the pillow
for what I had meant to last ~
Heartbreak and revoltion
caught under the gun
The hope I lost upon the night
that shaped what I've become.

Ultimate betrayal
traces of the hand
That crept beneath the covers,
who would understand?
Skin that crawls every time
I hear them speak his name
Unspoken whispers in my mind
where nothing else remains.

A multitude of promises
of plastic-coated smiles
A wealth of riches lay before
in emanating style ~
Attentive to my every need
he whispered in my ear
Words of love so soft and tender,
the things I longed to hear.

He took my hand as we escaped
and walked along the sand
In the throes of laughter
as along the beach we ran ~
A night so full of promises
with the man of my dreams
But it all ended so quickly
for nothing's as it seems.

In the darkness out of sight
he pushed me to the ground
I became confused and asked him
to quit fooling around ~
But he clamped a hand upon my mouth
and forced me in the sand
Unbuckling his trousers
to reveal to me a man.

Tears fell softly down my cheeks
as I tried to cry for help
But he told me not to fight him 'cause
the stories he could tell ~
Painting me as a whore
who asked for it all night
Flaunting her little body at him
in a dress that hugged so tight.

I closed my eyes to block it out
as petals from the sky
Broke the vase that held the single
roses of my life ~
Whispers heard within the wind
echoes far away
Of sounds that took me from the place
where I had come to lay.

Hopeless in the dark of night
I cried out in pain
As he began to deal the blows
of scars that would remain ~
Afraid to even open my eyes
I felt him upon me
As his hands began to violate,
I didn't want to see!

Ripping at the clothes I wore
to expose my nakedness
He started to devour me
and biting at my breast ~
Tears fell from my swollen eyes
for I could not escape
His touch upon my naked skin
as I squirmed beneath his weight.

Lost within his ecstasy
I tried to turn away
But I could not move beneath him
and I could not run away ~
I looked beyond the dead of night
to see the petals fall
From the roses that lay crushed
beside me on the floor.

I felt him heave a heavy sigh
as he rolled onto the sand
Putting all his clothes back on
he then offered me a hand ~
Covered in my tattered clothes
the bruises on my skin
Showed the scars I would always see
that had come from him.

Shivering in the steamy night
as tears fell down my face
I turned away from the man
whose lips I'll always taste ~
Then with a shrug he walked away
and left me in the night
To look beyond the million stars
of petals in the sky.

He gave me roses when we met
but that was long ago
For I had been nothing to him,
the shame that I now know ~
The shards of broken glass that were
the pieces of my life
Like the crushed roses I became
that petal in the sky.

"This poem is about the sad case of date rape, or aquaintance rape. A crime none-the-less that often goes unpunished because it is incredibly difficult to prove, as we as being very distressing for the victim. I have taken an instance here about a couple who go on a "date" to a party, then in the excitement, leave the party for a romantic stroll along the beach. Though both have very different ideas of romance. When they were out of distance from the party, he forces her to the ground where he rapes her....with the threat that if she fights him he will then spread malicious rumours about her "asking for it". A victim can often see no way out. So she closes her eyes and tries to focus on something else....the roses he gave her ~ no! Their petals fall around her from the broken vase that held his promises to her, crushed by his lies. Then when he is done, he gets up, dresses and offers her a hand up. With only an ounce of self-respect left, she wraps her tattered clothes around her and turns away as tears fall down her face. Not caring one way or the other, he shrugs and leaves her there to sulk in her own misery and heads off back to the party. The memory of the roses he gave her at the beginning of the night seems so long ago now, full of love and promises....but they only held shame. Then as she slowly gets to her feet the shards of broken glass of the vase that was her life remind her of those roses that crushed her as she became that petal in the sky.... A part of her died that night....she would never see again."