Photo credit BigStockPhoto PixelsAway
What Remained
by Kaley Kelly, MSW student, University of South Florida, social work intern: RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network)
Her hair caught the light like a copper penny.
Her smile invited warmth on the coldest days.
My mother was given a name for her pain
Before anyone asked where it started.
I was an adolescent when she almost left this world,
When confusion answered questions, I couldn’t ask.
Years later, I learned how fragile naming can be,
How suffering is misunderstood,
How quickly stories are shortened.
A method of healing that was a language for aches,
A kindness that stayed when stories faltered.
Now I provide what was once offered to me:
presence and supportive listening.
I do not rescue. I remain.
This is how staying
becomes the work.