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Family Secrets 2

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"Family Secrets" REVISED. Note: I sometimes post my poems too soon. Later revised version presents the same story, told in fewer words.

He taught Bible study at our local church. Mother caught him kissing her cousin, Marie, in the kitchen. He groped cousin Anna under the water as we swam in the pond. My thirteenth birthday, in his eyes, meant that I was fair game. I resisted, threaten to tell. Again, Mother caught him snooping to watch sister and I in the shower. A lifetime of dread for the next shot. when, or what, or who. Always uncomfortable in his presence. Thirty-five years, the ugly secret kept, for Mother’s sake. In my heart, sweet relief felt, on the day he died.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2015




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Date: 5/23/2019 4:14:00 AM
What an amazing piece of work I felt your anguish and relief it's a 7 from me
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Date: 1/3/2015 1:18:00 PM
Very well done. I've known women who experienced that. Hopefully, not all men of the cloth are such hypocrites. It is way too common, and I just don't understand.
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Bill Yates
Date: 1/3/2015 5:27:00 PM
I have to kindly disagree. There are different degrees of sin. And redemption comes only after repentance.
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Cona Adams
Date: 1/3/2015 4:22:00 PM
I understand perfectly. A weakness of character can strike anyone at any point in life. Evil exists, and it takes many forms. The person who gossips is as guilty as the person who commits murder. Jesus himself said that if you have broken one commandment, you have broken them all. He paid the penalty for all mankind on the cross.
Date: 1/3/2015 10:31:00 AM
A 7, Cona, I tend to do the same. We look for perfection in ourselves. No one should have to be on guard to protect yourself or others. That person will carry the sin with them forever.
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Cona Adams
Date: 1/3/2015 12:52:00 PM
Yes, and forgiveness comes only through the grace of God. I carried hate in my heart for years before I learned to trust God to change my heart and allow me to forgive.

Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry