Through the Eyes of An Abused Child - A Poem About Abuse
My History with Child Abuse and Neglect
Working at a center for children who had an open abuse or neglect case through the local Children and Family Services was one of the most painful and most rewarding jobs I have ever had. This poem reflects the uncertainty that children in these situations face that even adults can't understand—unspoken fears that young eyes and hearts face on a daily basis.
A Child's Eyes
I used to think a child’s eyes were
Always trusting
Willing to reach out
Willing to touch
To be touched
Wanting to love
And be loved—
Open and innocent.
I used to think a child’s eyes were
Always trusting
Until I met them—
A different breed
Uncommon lives
Filled with violence
With fear
And unpredictable love.
I used to think a child’s eyes were
Always trusting
Until I saw
Looking up at me
Wide fearful eyes
An adult to hold onto—
Yet holding back
Hesitant, unsure.
I never expected a child’s eyes
To not be trusting--
To be pleading,
Haunting and hollow,
Showing an insecure
And ugly world
That begins
Way before adulthood.
I used to think a child’s eyes
Were always trusting.
But a new world every day
That is eerily different
Yet every day the same
Comes back to haunt
Comes back to stay
With the same old refrain:
My Own Eyes Opened as a Social Worker
Each day the same but different…. Each day is the same with the uncertainty, the knowledge that everything is going to bring with it the same chaos, the same abuse, or the same numb neglect. Each day is different, too, in that there is always the human hope that seems to lurk in every one of us, the hope that a new day will bring with it a surprise of something better, even if something small.
As a young social worker out of college, my eyes were opened to a world in which three year olds had more personality and social issues than I had ever encountered in an adult. They had more trust issues than I could have ever dreamed possible. When I “won” one of these precious individuals over and heard that coveted “Miss Bicki” (short for Miss Vicki, of course) and reached out to take that little hand that stretched up to me, I was filled with the most humble and blessed of feelings. The hope that little girl or boy wanted to feel had bubbled up past the fear that held that badgered soul back from adults. Praise God!
The situations that such children as these live in is a cycle, one that is often passed down to them from their parents who also struggled in similar environments. I worked closely with their parents to help them work on breaking the cycle and providing a better home. I helped them find all the resources they could. Sometimes it was enough, and sometimes it wasn’t. I don’t know what happened to all those children and families I worked with nearly twenty years ago. I do know for sure of one incredible success story with one of the little boys whose family I worked with for nearly four years. I trust there are more.
And here is the refrain...
Each day the same but different....
I see…
Eyes that show a wealth of loss
In their world of everyday.
I see…
Eyes that know
Enormous cost
In a world that slips away.
Each day the same but different
In a world that yields no gains;
Each day some hopeful efforts
To help release their pain.
I see…
Eyes that move
In frantic darts
In a world of constant change.
I see…
Eyes that die
In fearful glaze
In a world they can’t arrange.
Each day the same but different
In a world that yields no gains;
Each day new lies are waiting
In a truth that still remains.
Each day the same but different.
If you suspect child abuse, please report it . . . .
- Reporting Child Abuse/Neglect
Understanding how and when to assume responsibility for reporting suspected child abuse/neglect. Knowing the best and most helpful ways to help families in crisis. A hub by fpherj48 on HubPages.