For those women and girls who feel that they cannot yet speak out.

"The Bogeyman"

I learned at an early age that the bogeyman is real and that he is alive and well. He doesn't only come when I am alone in the dark. I will turn a corner and there he will be in all his glory.

Sue

"Bogeyman Blues"

He was supposed to be friend not foe,
Why oh why didn't I say no!
I kept our secret, I never told,
Now slowly and painfully it must unfold.

Will I ever find the key,
The one which will set me free,
Free of all this shame and guilt
Which thirty years of silence has built.

Sue

"Safety Switch"

One minute with you, wanting to give all,
The switch is thrown and I put up the wall,
You don't know what's happened, I cannot explain,
I'm trying to distance you, minimise the pain.

I'm afraid to feel, to show you I care,
Always the coward, don't know if I dare,
It won't just hurt me, but also you,
So I withdraw, don't know what else to do.

Sue

"Untitled"

Grovelling in the shit,
Naked and afraid
You walk away from me, with comfort.
How can you leave me-
Bound by guilt and shame?
You show no compassion for me
Or attempt to unleash me from my chains
You've stripped me of my values
And lay torment at my feet.
Probing and dissecting my every thought,
And watching over me while I writhe
In mental agony
Then clad in black,
You sentence me to a life of bondage,
In silence, tortured by such emotional pain
And as the cell door
Mercilessly closes,
I make one last plea
That goes unheard
And shrouded in darkness,
I fear no-one but myself.