The Only One

by silentlambs 9 Replies latest jw friends

  • silentlambs
    silentlambs

    Dedicated to those who thought they were the only ones...

    The Only One

    A troubled child with vacant eyes sits quietly alone with not much to say,

    He killed her puppy and said she would be next if she told her friends at play.

    A father who betrayed her trust, violated her innocence and left her emotionally numb,

    To afraid to confide or tell anyone, she cries inside, thinking she is the only one.

    One day in a moment of trust she tells her mom the atrocity that happened to her,

    The one person she needed to believe her the most instead increased the hurt.

    Her mommy cried, then said she lied perhaps it was all just harmless fun,

    She wonders did it really happen or am I just crazy? I must be the only one.

    As she grows older with courage mustered to the elders she now goes,

    The men she trusted for justice call her a liar so no one will have to know.

    With a pedophile’s denial she’s told to be silent or she will be shunned,

    Her heart is crushed she feels so alone she believes she is the only one.

    With pain so great she thinks she will burst, confides in a friend who turns her in,

    While the child molester is an elder she is told she has committed the greater sin.

    Charged with slander as the announcement is read she sits in the audience stunned,

    Her friends are gone, her parents turn away, why am I the only one?

    A silentlamb she’s been for years as the pain continues it’s hard to face her fears,

    One day she learns she is not alone by reading of victims who share her tears.

    With righteous outrage a roaring lamb to help the children her healing has begun,

    To finally be believed and given support with slow realization she’s not the only one.

  • Mulan
    Mulan

    Wonderful. Thank you. It brought tears to my eyes, not an easy thing to do, either.

    Marilyn (a.k.a. Mulan)

  • D wiltshire
    D wiltshire

    Thanks for help to feel the pain and alonness of innocent children.
    I think we need to be able to feel their despair, to do the right thing ourselves, to be ready to protect them.

    Your poem does that.

    I'll defend your right to say it, but it doesn't mean I beleive it.

  • silentlambs
    silentlambs

    back up

  • Maximus
    Maximus

    I thought I had heard everything there was to hear about the organization's bad fruitage.

    But now that people are talking openly, what I keep hearing over and over is,

    "I've just never talked about it; it happened to me a long time ago."

    The beasts who have perpetuated these unspeakable crimes must be held accountable. The mindset that nourishes them is evil incarnate.

    Maximus

  • patio34
    patio34

    Hi SilentLambs,

    Poignant poem. What really struck me was the congregation's response: punish the victim. Is this pretty representative?

    It's tragic the elders are viewed as the 'authorities,' when the social agencies and real authorities are the ones who could really mete out justice. It's a sham to further victimize lambs. It's a false hope and hurts people.

    Thanks for the perceptive peep into what's been kept private.

    Pat

  • outnfree
    outnfree

    Bill,

    Reading a poem like this makes my entire body feel weighted down.
    Besides the poor one described in it, and the others who have told their stories here or posted them to your site, I think of my dear friend who is still in and is "patiently waiting on Jehovah" to right the wrongs perpetrated against her. They include sexual abuse by a half-brother, physical abuse by her father (still a JW in good standing) and emotional abuse by her mother. It is sickening.

    And now to read that the stance on how to treat the victims differs from country to country, which means, of course, that the Governing Body has been speaking out of both sides of their collective mouths...

    How far the mighty have fallen in my estimation! I am so sorry that I devoted ANY of my time and allegiance to such two-faced, uninterested, callous "shepherds." How many do you think are rotting in hell? (or burning? depending on your theology?) And God help the idle standers-by, too.

    outnfree

  • D wiltshire
    D wiltshire

    SL,

    I must admit when I first was comming out of mind control I thought that you were making a mountain out of a mole hill. Now as my head is clearing and I'm able to think in a more rational way, I feel sorry that I ever felt that way.

    I have a grand-daughter that is being raised a JW and I feel what you are doing will make it a little safer for her and other children.

    As a former elder I can say sometimes we are too concerned about our own ASS and not about these little ones. And I would like to ask any elders who are lurkers, do what you can to help these poor defenseless children, alot of people have made the sacrifice to do so, what about you?

    I'll defend your right to say it, but it doesn't mean I beleive it.

  • Jigrigger
    Jigrigger

    Very touching, Silentlamb...

    Kudos to you for your tireless work on behalf of the many victims who feel so powerless and alone...
    You must have one HUMONGOUS HEART.
    Justice WILL prevail due to the efforts of you and others who have taken up the cause in this regard.

    May the sun shine just a little brighter on you and yours,

    Jrig

  • gsark
    gsark

    BTTT

    <"Get down off that cross; somebody needs the wood!">

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