NYCD Feature: Patricia’s End

By Kerahia Jno Baptiste

And Patricia laid there thinking, “When did it all come to this?”

All the fighting and the fussing

All the beating and the cussing

And Patricia laid there thinking, “How aggressive was he”

Ripping and tearing her clothes from her back

And punching her madly till her body turned black

And Patricia laid there thinking “Did I do things wrong”

Did my presence aggravate him and made him so mad

Was my cleaning and cooking done really that bad

And Patricia laid there thinking, “Why didn’t I do anything”

To pack our bags and leave this terrible place

To defend my honor in this horrible case

And Patricia laid there thinking “Why didn’t I tell anyone?”

Would my family judge me when they see me cry

Will my friends turn away and think I’m telling a lie.

And Patricia laid their thinking “This pain isn’t so rough”

The red gore rushing from her head to the floor

The holes in her body matching those on the door

And Patricia laid there thinking, “When will I see my Kids Again?”

Just to hug them and kiss them and put them to bed

Make them coconut tablet and cassava bread

And Patricia laid there thinking “The struggles are all over now”

For fifteen long years, his treatment was brutal and cold

The way that he acted was out of this world

And Patricia laid their thinking “From the soil that’s beneath me”

To my family and friends I say sweet goodbyes.

I leave my loved ones with tears in their eyes

He claimed that he loved me, my so called best friend

At the hands of my true love, my life met its end

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