7 Times Too Many

The average domestic abuse victim goes back to their partner 7 times before they finally leave them.

7 fucking times.

And if you're ever had a friend or family

That has been abused,

And you watch them go back to their abuser

Over and over again,

And all you do 

Is listen to them,

And try to accept them,

Never speaking your peace about it,

Never telling them how much you can't stand the person that’s hurting them,

Are you in the right or the wrong?

Should you try to shake some sense into them?

Or do you just watch and listen,

And hope they learn it on their own? 

7 times seems like 6 too many. 

But hey, who am I to critique who someone's heart belongs to? 

I’m the guy who writes about all the women he is seeing.

I’m the guy who fell for a little blonde witch and then spent two years writing her poetry, reading her favorite authors, listening to her music, and looking for her everywhere I went, before inviting her to live with my brother and I. I’m an idiot. 

I’m the guy that has slept with more women than he’d care to admit. 

I’m not an expert on love. So, who am I to tell someone else that they're in love with a bad person?

I’m no one . . .  But I cannot keep watching someone I care about suffer. 

We don't really choose who we fall for, do we?

Some lessons have to be learned the hard way, don’t they? 

I’ll bite my tongue and hope that it won’t take 5 more times for him to figure it out.

-CH 5/8/25