Pinned shoulder to shoulder, t-shirts extended in lines,The power of expression, is what "THE CLOTHESLINE" defines.Although each color symbolic, the threads weave the same,Each shirt a picture of violence, each shirt a witness to pain.The color white a memorial, for a victim who died,Simply, because of her gender, precious life was denied.Yellow signifies a victim, embraced by batter and assault,When intimacy turned into violence, as if loving was a fault.Shades of pink, red, and orange - when passion turned into rape,Denied the right to say "NO", by either stranger, or date.The blue and green bear nightmares, when a child of incest and misuseWas forced not to tell the "SECRETS", endured from physical and sexual abuse.See the beautiful shades of lavender, to the one not afraid to voice,A different sexual orientation, condemned, when in public made the choice.In the beginning they first choose the color, then allowing pain to flow from inside,Using buttons, bows, paints, and prose, self-expression no longer denied.As you walk through the line of color, emotional pain may fill your heart,But to the victim this personal creation, permits an inner healing to start.Pinned shoulder to shoulder, t-shirts extended in lines,The power of expression, is what "THE CLOTHESLINE" defines.
Patricia Tokarz
abuse, clothesline, coping, mental-health