Reverberating Recoil - Trauma Triggers of Adult Survivor of Child Abuse Poem

Reverberating Recoil

Contemplative by Rainripple on deviantART

Pacing rattles my nerves.
Steps upon the floor--
Back and forth,
Up and down.
Heavily...
In my soul,
I sense a
Reverberating pound.

Unnerving me,
I shake within.
Unseen, unknown to those around.

I do not want to control,
Forcing others to compensate,
To quietly tiptoe,
Afraid to make a sound.

Yet, within the string tightens.
Each step plucks a shrilling chord.
Inward, I recoil.

Oh, how trauma preconditions me.
The tremors cannot be ignored.
Tense, I clench my jaw,
Hoping, waiting, breath.
Once again I endure.

He walked out and shut the door.

Finally, I release.
I sense relief.
Anxious - no more.