I have to thank Rosalia for inviting me to her reception for her art on display at the
Pride Center.
Loss, Sex and Life is appropriately titled as she touches on HIV and domestic violence. The latter struck a cord with me as she explained to me how her co-worker was murdered by an ex-boyfriend. I was appalled but reminded of the time that I visited Skagway and saw the monument to Molly; which jogged me back to my co-worker informing me that her former co-worker, who lived down the street from me,
was recently murdered by her husband. I had passed a house down the street from me with that yellow police tape.
I wrote a couple poems that day.
Therefore in commemorating Domestic Violence Awareness Month, here is one of those poems:
Some women can't escape
Not now, not then
Domestic bliss turns into dispute
And poor Natalia is dead.
Some women can't escape
Not now, not then
Her heart was won by the wrong suitor
Who pursued Mollie until he shot her dead.
So happy to be married to the man of her dreams
But short lived was the domestic bliss
When he took to the bottle and became Mr Hyde,
Mollie escaped from Alaska to Seattle to hide.
One day I passed and saw the police tape
Then the news told me Natalia, who lived down my street, is dead.
Different in looks, different states
But both Mollie and Natalia are dead
From the ones who should cherish them most.
So many lives shortened, especially wives!
Copyrighted by Suzzette Dawes
picture taken by Suzzette Dawes of Monument in Skagway, Alaska in 2013.
