That Night

by Gracey13

Published December 5, 2004

She was beat 11 times,
By her father-she thinks

She was afraid,
Oh yes she was,
She could not even blink.

But listen to her, just right now,
"It wasn't like a spankin',
I believe I was abused, most definately,
More than you could ever Imagine."

As her father raised his hand, to beat her the 12th time,
She gave him that "No daddy look",
And tears streamed out his eyes.

"So he took me in his arms,
and begged me not to tell"
I promised that she wouldn't,
although my feelings about such weren't to well.

"But I felt as if my dad,
needed a time to be free.
He needed this time to think,
on what Jesus did on Calvary."

She really stood right here and said,
With her parents in her sight,
that that was one powerful time,
When daddy accepted Jesus, That Night.

Comments & reviews · 13
User avatar
BeTheChange
Review
BeTheChange wrote a review Review · Dec 19, 2016

I don't think it was terrible, but it wasn't what I'd call a good poem, either. As others have said, the errors and forced rhymes detracted from it. Also, it was a bit incoherent. Was it a Christian poem about an abusive man becoming nice after converting? If so, I'm a Christian, and I don't think that's the way it works.
That's my best interpretation, but like I said, I don't really know what it's about because of the downright messy syntax.
Sorry.
I'd encourage you to brush up on your grammar and spelling, and then try writing again.

User avatar
ghost223
Review
ghost223 wrote a review Review · Dec 19, 2016

Ignore him. Yes, it does have errors here an there, but poems aren't about structure or grammar. They're about feeling. Emotion. Your poem, the message in it, is very breathtaking. I mean, I did have to break a bit a few times and it is choppy, but I think that adds to the subject of the poem itself.
Overall---4/10 I've seen worse.

User avatar
Firestarter
Review
Firestarter wrote a review Review · Mar 2, 2005

This was a very poor example of poetry. Unfortunately, as Soy has pointed out, there are many, many mistakes in it. Generally dialogue in poems is quite difficult to pull off successfully without it sounded jumpy and bad. I'm not sure if some of the rhymes are intentional, as they are either bad attempts at rhymes or bad accidents. Whiever, this poem needs some serious work to be pulled off well.

User avatar
Soyala Amaya
Review
Soyala Amaya wrote a review Review · Mar 2, 2005

um...dear deity...what to say without sounding like a biotch...forget it, I'm cramping, here comes the vil twin.

This was bad. Straight out. Cliche, over done, heard it a thousand times, written poorly, forced rhyme, dragged out lines to make the rhymes fit, flat out BAD. The basic format might be salvagable, maybe a line or two, like that Jesus-Calvary one (though I don't understand it, it might work if it's a cool, legitimate story), but over all, I'm sorry, I felt like I was wading through mush.

User avatar
niteowl
Review
niteowl wrote a review Review · Mar 1, 2005

FORCED RHYMING ALERT! FORCED RHYMING ALERT! BEEP BEEP!

Seriously, if the rhyme doesn't come naturally, don't force a poem to rhyme unless it's a stupid one for a school assignment. Which I'm guessing this isn't.

She gave him that "No, daddy look"


I don't think you meant to put look in quotes.

What Jesus did on Calvary


Forgive me for being ignorant, but what did Jesus do on Calvary?

I like the concept, but you could use some better word choice, like others said, and I would prefer to see it as a free verse.

User avatar
-KayJuran-
Review
-KayJuran- wrote a review Review · Mar 1, 2005

Gracey13 wrote:But listen to her, just right now,
"It wasn't like a spankin',
I believe I was abused, most definately,
More than you could ever Imagine."


i agree im afraid... main point right now is that 'imagine' needs
changing to something else i think - it doesnt seem to fit in here
anyway...

i also wasnt too sure who was talking some of the time.. confused
me just a little...

User avatar
Writersdomain
Review
Writersdomain wrote a review Review · Mar 1, 2005

I thought it was pretty good. It was definitely a touching story, but I think it could use more description to make the meaning more clear and more powerful. Also, your verbs were a little.. bland I guess I should say and could me more specific. I think it would be better if you really searched your mind and found the verb that fit exactly how you wanted it to and gave the right feeling. It was good though... very nice indeed.
-writersdomain

User avatar
Ego
Review
Ego wrote a review Review · Feb 27, 2005

Powerful, simple, and effective.

I'm always the last to review these poems and can't find anything that hasn't been said...

"I believe I was abused, most definately," Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I feel this line is too long..oh, and the word is definitely.

User avatar
Midnight
Review
Midnight wrote a review Review · Feb 27, 2005

I think that it was good in concpet and layout. Like the beat was good, but I just think the words of this poem didn't quite get across the severity of the issue.

ut listen to her, just right now,
"It wasn't like a spankin',
I believe I was abused, most definately,
More than you could ever Imagine."

Also in that Imagine really stuck out. I think this could be amazing but some things need to be tweaked which i'm sure you can notice.

User avatar
Gracey13 Comment
Gracey13 commented Comment · Feb 25, 2005

That's funny how y'all said "...I had a little bit of trouble on who was speaking without quotes...", because I don't even know
:oops:
But thanx for the cpmments!
:-D

Random avatar
justadreamer
Comment
justadreamer commented Comment · Dec 17, 2004

Such a sad story that happens to children everywhere. I had a little bit of trouble on who was speaking without quotes, but I thought it was really good. And it kept my attention!

User avatar
Crysi
Review
Crysi wrote a review Review · Dec 12, 2004

I agree.. it confused me a bit, I didn't know who was talking when the speech wasn't in quotes. Still, it was pretty good.. I don't know, I think Myriadne said it all lol. :P

User avatar
Myriadne
Review
Myriadne wrote a review Review · Dec 10, 2004

Keep in mind that everything I say here is my opinion. I really think this is in need of a significant re-write. Your changes between first and second person could work if simplistic but as it stands I found them really confusing especiallly in the fourth stanza. Also your rhymes are very forced and in most cases detract from the seriousness of the issue being dealt with, lines like "she could not even blink" which seem to be there just to fit in with the rhyme scheme in my opinion really reduce the value of the poem. This piece however does have a lot of potential and I would love to see it re-worked.



As the notifications drift in I stop and wonder. Why do they take so long? Do they have adventures we don't know about? I bet they do. When they come I will ask myself. What amazing adventure has this straggling notification been on? How far did it travel, and why didn't it take me?
— TypoWithoutCoffee