My Assailant
Donna Kaz
Lives in Europe with two daughters,
his three sons left behind
their only memories his open hand,
his open mouth, his tears.
Has a French girlfriend,
is wealthy, is sober;
passes by expensive wine shops
without even a sniff of regret.
Reads the newspapers in another language,
meets a few friends in small cafes,
speaks with passion of his dreams.
Sleeps in a tiny bed of wrought iron
on a hard mattress, peacefully,
but not for very long.
Takes long walks along some river
no longer recognized by passersby,
his chiseled face framed
by the turned up collar
of his starched white oxford,
his receding hairline invisible
under a brown leather cap,
his eyes squinting at the sun.
Is captured one day in the background
of an international news program on TV
buying cheese and meat from a street vendor
while the foreign correspondent
speaks of a terrorist attack, a bombing.
Listen to Donna read the poem here:
his three sons left behind
their only memories his open hand,
his open mouth, his tears.
Has a French girlfriend,
is wealthy, is sober;
passes by expensive wine shops
without even a sniff of regret.
Reads the newspapers in another language,
meets a few friends in small cafes,
speaks with passion of his dreams.
Sleeps in a tiny bed of wrought iron
on a hard mattress, peacefully,
but not for very long.
Takes long walks along some river
no longer recognized by passersby,
his chiseled face framed
by the turned up collar
of his starched white oxford,
his receding hairline invisible
under a brown leather cap,
his eyes squinting at the sun.
Is captured one day in the background
of an international news program on TV
buying cheese and meat from a street vendor
while the foreign correspondent
speaks of a terrorist attack, a bombing.
Listen to Donna read the poem here:
Working notes
In 1992, I was living in Los Angeles and decided to volunteer to answer calls on the LA Rape and Battery Hotline. At the first training session, all the volunteers went around and introduced themselves. As each woman before me stood up to speak, she said her name and then added that she identified as a survivor of sexual assault. After three or four women spoke, it hit me for the very first time - I had been a victim of domestic violence and was also a survivor. For 13 years, I had downplayed and denied the abusive relationship I had once been in. The supportive women of the LA Commission on Assaults Against Women (now Peace Over Violence) helped me to work through what had happened to me. Writing about an intimate and personal perspective of terrorism was a part of that process.
About the author
Donna Kaz is a poet and lyricist whose poems have been published in Lilith, Turning Wheel, and Step Away Magazine. She has been a featured writer at the Pulse Poetry Slam, Carpo, Uncle Mo’s, and Wordstock. Her musicals include “Food” (music by Gerald Stockstill, New York Musical Festival 2010) and “LIVE! NUDE! GIRL!” (music by Wayne Barker, New York Musical Festival 2009). She is the recipient of residency fellowships from Yaddo, Djerassi, The Blue Mountain Center, The Ucross Foundation, and The New Lyric Institute for New Musicals. Donna Kaz resides in New York City and is completing her MFA in Creative Writing at Queens University of Charlotte.
For an updated list of works published in TRIVIA, please see this author's contributor page.
For an updated list of works published in TRIVIA, please see this author's contributor page.