On hard benches within grey walls
The women sit like broken dolls
And I wonder in this dingy room
At the the fates spun from this loom

    If I catch their eyes, they look away
    Their dreams were stolen yesterday

There is so much sorrow here
The price they've paid is oh-so-dear
Their dreams and hopes gone from their eyes
Nothing left but moonless skies

    And if I catch their eyes, they look away
    Their hopes all stolen yesterday

For all that fear, he's just a man
And I'm not afraid to take a stand
We're all given grace at birth
It's time to remember your forgotten worth

    Catch my eye, don't look away
    I'll return your dreams someday

Tami Bill
November 2007

I wrote this at the Getaway, after sitting with my mother at the courthouse with a lot of other women all waiting on a judge to sign their protection orders. They needed a voice, I needed to give them one.