Mr. Jones tells about his childhood friend, a boy who lived with his mother, stepfather and brothers and sisters. The boy and his sibs never knew who would be chosen to “ride along” with stepfather, but they all knew what it meant.
Years later, the boy, who is now a man, still lives at home with his mother. His stepfather and sibs are gone. He’s under day treatment and anaesthetized to close to a stupor. He doesn’t do much because the shirt on the chair said it will kill him if he does.
Mr. Jones knows his own family doesn’t love him, even though every adult made sure to sexually abuse him when he was a child. He tells of looking through the bathroom keyhole and seeing his grandfather abusing his little cousin. He walked in and became a known witness. Shortly after he told his grandmother, he became a family outcast.
Mr. Jones glances from time to time at the shelf over the fireplace. He tells me only later that “they” weren’t happy that day as he shared the family secrets.
Sane becomes insane
When a subject is used as object –
Remedy?
Laura is the host of dVerse today. Laura says:
For this Poetics Challenge, write in the 1st or 3rd person of your own experiences (real or imagined) or your witnessing mental health issues. Or if you prefer, base it on a poem which depicts living with, or alongside, ‘madness’ – and don’t forget to reference it!
I used the title, Possessed, because as kids they were treated as objects, and as adults, their psychoses possess them.
Image painted by Paul Wright, with his website link here.
Tao Talk 
Possessions possessed. A frank tale of family secrets and lies -aptly drawn in the Paul Wright image. Thanks for joining in with this prompt
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Thank you, Laura.
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This is devastating, how the sane become the outcast, while the madness can flourish behind those closed doors..
how being a witness can damage almost as much as being abused.
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You have a very clear sense of the dynamic, Bjorn. It might shock you how often this scenario plays itself out in families. What is wrong with humans that they treat their own flesh and blood this way? Devastating is right.
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Is this fir real?
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YES.
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Frightening, maddening, and in part true–wow. It puts me in mind of pedophile priests, and sexually perverted mixed families. “Johnny kisses his sister–You kiss just like Dad does–Uh-huh–that’s what Mom says.”
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Glenn, this poem is 100% true, not part true. Yes, the church “family”. Untold numbers of victims are generated from both of these scenarios. Frightening, maddening, and forever.
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p.s. except for the name. Also these were not clients of mine.
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Ah, the tragedy. You have painted the cycle so clearly and starkly. Possessed in so many ways. There is such healing in simply revealing the facts, all the family secrets laid out on the sidewalk. Thank you for letting Mr. Jones be seen.
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Victoria, thank you very much. I appreciate your sensitive comment.
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In 1990, the numbers I found for one city in Australia:
1:5 girls and 1:9 boys abused.
26% of kids under 14 on the ‘at risk’ register.
70% of abuse goes unreported.
How do we fix this?
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I think that’s a rhetorical question :( Education of parents BEFORE they have kids, a police force that is willing to write the reports, a court (all players) willing to prosecute and sentence. Teaching kids self defense from the moment they enter school and a conditioning to report “bad touch” as a norm MIGHT see an improvement in those statistics.
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Once caught in this family dynamic, there is no escape, ever. Thank you for letting this man tell his story. (K)
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Kerfe, thank you for understanding.
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This is crazy sad! What a life to live!! No wonder the younger Mr.Jones is off the deep end; Love the haiku!
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Dwight thank you for seeing the tragedy of it for these two. Glad you liked the haiku.
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I agree with Bjorn about the sane becoming the outcast, while the madness flourishes behind closed doors, and the damage to a witness of abuse. A clever choice of name, Mr Jones, so ordinary, it could be anybody. The sentences that gave me chilsl were ‘The boy and his sibs never knew who would be chosen to “ride along” with stepfather, but they all knew what it meant’ and ‘He doesn’t do much because the shirt on the chair said it will kill him if he does’. The haiku is a succinct summary of the situation, Jade.
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Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Kim. It’s a tragedy all the way around.
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This is devastating, raw and all too real. As a child, both my stepfather and my step grandfather attempted to abuse me, but I fought with every ounce of my tiny being and they never succeeded. I vividly recall the terror. I eventually told my mother, and we left.
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Humans are the only species that serve all of the roles of an ecosystem, and it is sad commentary on us as a species. Linda, I’m so happy you were able to fight them off. I’m so glad you told your mother. And I’m so glad your mom and you left. So many children aren’t blessed with any/all of those 3 steps.
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I know. I am too. Thank you Lisa.
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Tragic and sad Jadeli. I guess a person never recovers from this.
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Some are able to learn to process it to a degree and manage to be more functional, but it never goes away.
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very powerful prose about a subject that continues to be taboo … the whistleblowers are always outcast as people prefer to live in denial … look at the catholic church!
And this is the irretrievable damage they do to vulnerable children who never recover …
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Yes, Kate.
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Remedy? I wish we knew of one. Well written.
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Thank you, Maggie, me too.
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Damn. That is harrowing and deeply tragically sad. Your measured prose serves the content somberly and soberly. Well written. Well expressed.
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Barry, thank you for the feedback, it is appreciated. I wish it wasn’t true, but there are so many “possessed” out there, unheard.
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Horrible family secrets like these must be exposed to the light of truth! This makes me both sad and angry.
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They need to be, but many times…
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So awful…
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