"I cannot remember all the times." the black eyes, bruises, and broken bones effected my life. A decent memory of what use to be the normal day-to-day life. Sad, alone, fearing every move, learning to never talk to someone who he may think is a threat. Even some, he may say is a threat just to show how much he "loves" you. Jo Carson describes in her poem a man who abused his wife, she talks about the bruises and broken bones he left, the scars that people may not be able to see from first glance. This poem isn't asking for pity or sadness, it's almost like a warning. A warning that this does happen to women, it can happen to anyone. She ends the poem with a warning to women of what to do if put in the situation. The woman she talks about in the poem is Jo Carson her self. She tells her readers about what she went through because people are more likely to listen to someone who's been through it rather than someone who is just speculating. I've read many stories, listen to many songs but I've never come across a poem that I was able to relate to as well as "I cannot remember all the times." by Jo Carson. .
While I read this poem its almost like she's speaking to me. "I might could count black eyes, how many times I said I ran into doors or fell down or stepped into the path of any flying object except his fist." With that first line as she say's "I might could count black eye." I can hear the unsureness of her voice, its almost as if in the beginning of the poem she's a little unsteady but her strength grows by line 7, then she has a little attitude until line 23. She talks about the time he broke he ribs and she had to spend the night in the hospital but he didn't even spend one night in jail, that the sheriff doesn't apply the law to family matter. When I read this it was almost like a weight had been lifted off my chest. The one time I went for help was at school and the next day he had found out I told the guidance counselor, he ended up forcing me to tell the guidance counselor that I was lying and I wasn't afraid of him while he was standing right beside me.
