Bravery Means Not Succumbing to Rage

If they call you names

and you do not cry or flinch,

they say they have taught you

determination.

If they put a hand on your breast

and you do not tell anyone,

they say you understand 

the importance of family.

If you hear screams from the bedroom

and you keep on washing dishes,

they say you have learned

to mind your own business.

Years later, they laugh and say,

“It couldn’t have been that bad!

You turned out all right, 

didn’t you?”