Edited by Richard Stone
Ebony Monique Easter is a survivor of child abuse and psychiatric abuse. This piece is a reflection on the periodic perception of herself as a result of these traumas she has suffered throughout her life. As a recent contributor to the Community Alliance newspaper, she can be contacted at retroactive.justice@gmail.com. The following are footnotes clarifying portions of this work.
- “saving of page”: Here the author is holding onto a particular time in life that is good, namely holding onto the period of time before any abuse—a sort of allusion to holding on to something good. When the writer suggests “o’er which to mill,” think of milling around, sort of aimless innocent enjoyable wandering again enjoying a time unfettered by the trouble abuse brings about.
- “learned me”: Here the writer is presenting the traditional slang phrase typically used in some abusive context such as “that’ll learn you”—learning something by means of a hardship.
- “innocence removed and seared in my memory”: Here the writer alludes to the concept of “innocence being removed” that is being seared to memory.
*****
Richard Stone is on the boards of the Fresno Center for Nonviolence and the Community Alliance and author of the book Hidden in Plain Sight. Contact him at richard2662559@yahoo.com.
