"Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others." ~ Plato

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable." ~ Helen Keller

"Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well." ~ Vincent van Gogh

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

"Domestic violence is America's hidden war. And the battleground is in all our homes." ~ Michelle Bussolotti

"Domestic violence is a whole pattern of behavior. There are a whole lot of ways that it impacts the workplace, starting with absenteeism and lost productivity." ~ Laurie Fogelman

GUEST POET: Giovanna Ibarra

THE FEAR

I hear his voice
My heart races inside... 
I recognize this feeling of hurting inside
The feeling of fear invading my mind
A fear so strong it burns inside
My hands shake nervously... I can't escape my fear
My body stands still, waiting in silence... Pretending not to hear
I close my eyes and start to believe it's all just a dream
Only in dreams his hands can't reach me
Only in dreams his voice is nonexistent
I try to stay still but the sound of his voice grows louder
My heart beats faster... I can no longer ignore my fear
My sweat grows cold, I can barely feel
A million thoughts invade my mind
I pray and hope everything will be ok but inside I'm broken and slowly falling apart
I don't know if this time I'll survive again or if this moment is the end of the line
The fear becomes stronger and darker in my eyes
My only weapon is to remain strong and not allow him to take over my mind
I hear his voice calling my name, saying: "You can't escape!" 
I know you're awake...
"I can feel your fear from far away." 
but 
"I refuse to open my eyes, I refuse to allow this fear to control my heart."
I wish I had the power to make it all stop
I wish I could open my eyes and see the light instead of the darkness that filled the night
Now my only goal was to survive!
I know the pain my body will feel when in the darkness his hands find mine
I see his eyes full of hate and I hear his words that cut open my heart
And even though I know I may not survive
I own something he doesn't have... 
The courage to face my fear and fight to survive.


SHE SURVIVED

Her smile was BRIGHTER than the SUN
Her EYES were as BEAUTIFUL as a FLOWER
Her VOICE could be HEARD for hours
Her LOVE was like no other 
Her COMPASSION was FELT even by the LONELY man sitting on the street
Her life had a BRIGHT future waiting for her
Her DREAMS sorrounded her
Like the stars ADORN the SKY at night
Her HOPES
                    became ALIVE
And
she BELIEVED in a happily EVER after
Her WINGS were BRIGHT and the sparkle in her EYES made you BELIEVE...
Her LAUGH was CONTAGIOUS and she knew exactly who she WAS and who she HOPED to be
Until one day a MAN arrived and swept her off her feet only to CUT away her wings...
Darken her AURA and slowly ERASE her smile
He became like a POISON to her BODY and killed her SOUL with each word SPOKEN
He made sure her voice was SILENCED 
and took her farther AWAY from EVERYONE and EVERYTHING that ever mattered
Her COMPASSION could no longer be seen. He made sure she didn't know the COLORS of the NIGHT 
                                            she once adored or the smell of the AIR in the FALL
He HID her behind his WALL and CHAINED her soul
He killed her DREAMS and BURNED the ashes
He didn't leave a TRACE...
He was CAREFUL not to leave a MARK on her body
He TORTURED her in the most painful ways
He tortured her MIND... He tortured her SOUL
The marks he left on her body SLOWLY healed
The marks he left on her soul are still OPEN and bleeding INSIDE
He made sure she forgot WHO she WAS
He made sure her dreams were FORGOTTEN and her HOPES were SHATTERED one by one
But in the end... He FORGOT one small detail, he NEVER knew WHO she WAS
He thought so very LITTLE of her and NEVER expected her to SURVIVE!
He never expected her to be STRONG enough to DEFEAT her own FEAR
The FEAR...
he slowly FILLED her soul with
All vanished... the night she said ENOUGH!
He UNDERESTIMATED her SOUL 
He BROKE every SINGLE part of her but didn't think for one SECOND that her SOUL even when it's BROKEN, 
                                                        can HEAL and come back STRONGER than before...
She SURVIVED.