To Be Continued

Once there was a boy who lived at the base of a mountain.
As he was walking one day he saw a storm brewing.
He didn’t mind storms so he was surprised when this
storm took on a character of aggression against him alone.
All the storms destructive energy was centered in him.
He tried to make sense of this as he was tossed about by the storm.
He could barely run but instinctively crawled to save himself.
The winds slammed him against the rocks and the lightening prodded his movement.
Bruised and in pain he found a cave and dragged his beaten body in.
The storm outside seemed to threaten his escape and he settled into the dark and uninviting cave, the only shelter from the storm.
He was able to find food enough to keep him alive,
and some water trickled in from some unknown source.
The storm lingered at the opening of the cave for a while
then subsided, barely noticed by the boy.
When he finally noticed, he imagined that perhaps the storm would not return.
He decided to try and leave the cave, so he slowly peaked out and looked all around.
There was no sign of the storm but some people were walking in front of the cave.
He thought maybe they would help him so he timidly approached them.
Instead they belittled him and laughed at his disheveled appearance.
They began throwing rocks at him seeing that
he was weakened from the storms onslaught,
so he retreated back into the cave.
He tried coming out several times
but was always confronted with humiliation and threats.
He decided to remain in the cave and it eventually became familiar
and even comforting.
He would sit inside the opening of the cave and look out over the valley
with resignation to his situation.
He could see other children in the valley playing and laughing as if there was nothing to fear. He could not understand how they could be so carefree; did they not know of the storm and the pain and isolation it could cause?
He must be very different from them if the storm only targeted him!
So he stayed in the cave and nobody noticed!

he stayed in the cave for years ,watching ,wanting to come down but afraid .then one day a man stood at the mouth of the cave and the boy was very frightened ,men are bad ,men hurt ,but somehow this man seemed different ,familier somehow , the way he talked ,the way he kept his eyes averted ,but most of all how he seemed to know everything the boy knew,all the pain ,shame and guilt had built a solid rock door over the cave alone neither was strong enough to push it aside ,not the man from outside ,or the boy fronm inside ,the boy inside begged to be let out ,the man outside begged to be let in .nothing could move the rock ,untill the boy noticed a small crack between the wall and the rock his hand would fit through the crack but he was afraid to reach out ,what if the rock shifted ? his hand would be crushed, was it worth the risk? the boy thought about this for a long time maybe years till he realized that even if his hand got crushed ,it would be no worse than staying inside ,so he pushed his hand through the crak and felt the mans hand grasp it , the rock was suddenly gone and the boy knew that the man outside was really him ,while he sat in the cave the man grew up ,to be the only one that could ever set him free. feel free to delete this if it sounds stupid

My God, that's perfect!!!!
GOOD JOB!!!!
Thank you, Thank you
Very Lovingly,
Dan

Guys!

This is SO freaking increadible! It articulates my life, your lives and so many other's lives so well. Thank you both for this. WELL DONE!!!!

evanescence, this is the part that should be deleted :"feel free to delete this if it sounds stupid" you have the power to edit and the power to acknowledge your own strength, which you obviously have a lot of.

Robbie, GLAD YOU ENJOYED IT, I knew there would be some good endings written but never imagined the first would be so perfect and powerful. evanesence did a great job!!

Lovingly,
Dan

Wow! Thanks guys! This is an awesome post! I am the GF of my BF who is a survivor and we both have gained a lot of knowledge and wisdom from this site. It is so refreshing to see the love, compassion, empathy and sympathy that all of you have for one another. I am so grateful and thankful that my BF found the courage to push his hand through the crack! You could not have said it any better!! May each and everyone of you have a blessed 2008!

Wow... I gotta read more of these poetry posts!!!! :-) It is just so true to me too. Dan, evanescence, way cool!!!!!! You said so much, so well.

So.... this is really a tough act to follow! And well... OK, here goes... I thought of something like this between these parts:

Slowly, his eyes became more and more used to the soft, enveloping darkness, and he began to venture further and further back into the cave. Eventually he could see nothing at all, not even the faintest light, but he could still find his way very slowly, crawling, by just feeling the hard, cold things he could no longer see at all. But he got used to the cold. And being covered in mud and dirt. And when he sometimes touched softer, slippery things that quickly scurried away, he felt at home in the endless blackness of the cave.

Until one day --though there was never really day in the cave, only night-- suddenly he saw! --he had nearly forgotten about seeing! --a faint light far away. As he move closer, he could not bear to look at the blinding light that hurt his eyes, but he saw an oak leaf! Suddenly, he remembered about climbing trees! and feeling the blowing wind! and the birds and sky! He cried and cried. How could he have forgotten about the sky??? But he had accidently come back to the mouth of the cave.

(and now, evanescense's ending)

he had stayed in the cave for years ,watching ,wanting to come down but afraid .then one day a man stood at the mouth of the cave...

This, for me, really says how I feel I lost my childhood, missed so much... getting lost in that cave for what turned out to be many years.

LoS, I had goosebumps reading your addition, How true...it became part of life and seemed "normal" to be in the dark.We were too good at adapting. You guys, my brothers, are the light that pulls me back to the opening and back into the world, remembering that life holds a lot of beauty and goodness.
Thanks Pal,
Lovingly,
Dan

for after Evanesence's part:

The man apologized for taking so long getting to the cave. He explained that he was not quite able to face the boy for all those years. He knew he was there…but was too afraid to really look for the boy. With his head down, he confessed to the boy that he actually was ashamed of the boy for many years. In the pain and confusion of life, the man thought it was much better to leave him sealed in the cave, where no one need ever look at him again.

The man, now resolute to showing the world what damage it had done, and determined to end future damage, took the boy by the hand and walked proudly along side of him into the village.

Accurate!! Little did I know that by trying to act as if I was
healthy I was denying my "little guy" the chance to heal. It was not until I saw the CSA for what it was that I "took the boy by the hand and walked proudly along side of him into the village".

Thanks, Robbie, this seems to be a familiar story to a lot of us
I'm proud to be part of a group that can take our boys by the hand and walk proudly anywhere.

Lovingly,
Dan

you might have seen this i think it fits the story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bX2IyXejGk

that is amazing!!! all of the images fit with our storys. Does anyone know any history re: this video? This guy has our survivor instinct! evanesence, you come through again! I'll save that one in my favorites.

Lovingly,
Dan