Teen Dating Violence Poem
Young and naive
Dealing with new sensations
How to make sense of it all
When society has expectations
Of me, of others
Of friend and foe
When to say yes
And when to say no
When to say stop
When to say go
How to be safe
How would I know
And if I find myself
Compromised or abused
Who will believe me
When I didn’t choose
If I stay silent
And deal with my pain
Will the perpetrator
Do it again
If I’m still here
To tell the tale
Was I at fault
Did I somehow fail
Without consent
I am not to blame
If I regret something later
There is no shame
It may be hard
To face this difficulty
But I’ll find support
And gain a new ability
I’ll learn about recovery
Beyond this crisis
I’ll find my strength
Without any vices
In my process
Of overcoming
I’ll truly be me
And keep becoming
Unstoppable
Nevertheless
My victory
Constant progress
Never diminished
I’ll find support
As a self-advocate
I will be taught
How to survive
How to rejoice
How to thrive
And keep my voice
To speak my truth
Without hesitation
As I proceed
Without obligation
Any action I take
Will be of my choosing
My goal is to heal
And get on with living
On 28 December 2024, I was contacted by Kim Gomez, an Outreach Specialist from WomenShelter of Long Beach USA and asked if they could use my poem on Domestic Violence as part of a social media post on World Poetry Day on 21 March 2025.
I mentioned that I also provide poems on request.
They asked, ‘Would you be open to doing a poem about Teen Dating Violence (TDV)? Next month (February) is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and we have a Youth Conference titled Unseen Scars: #KnowTheSigns.’
So this commission for teenagers has now been completed above! I welcome feedback, insights and comments! With love, Sue Ellson 🙂
Photo: Looking up at a tree in Canterbury, Melbourne on 22 December 2024
#teendatingviolence #TDV #KnowTheSigns #SueEllson #SueEllsonPoem #poem #poetry
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