She was fifteen when she first heard the words -
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Paul McCartney's soft, heartbreakingly tender voice seemed to speak directly to her soul. The guitar's haunting melody would forever be etched into her heart. The words, the message of this song became so much a part of her being that even as a 35 year old woman, she could not hear the song without tears filling her eyes, and an acute feeling that she was worth something filling her chest.
But when she was a 15 year old girl, she didn't know that she would end up marrying an incredibly loving and patient man, who would make all the difference in her life. She didn't yet know that she would fly far, far away from the self-indulgent villain who stole so much more than her innocence. All that fifteen year old girl knew was a secret world of abuse and shame. She had already been at the mercy of a sexual deviant for over 6 years. She had already been naked, exposed to a grown man before she even hit pubery. She had already had groping hands mark her flesh with humilation and mark her mind with confusion, and brand her evil within her own heart.
She was that blackbird, battered and broken. She was in a constant dark black night. Her misery, her brokenness compounded every time he made her watch another porno, every time he humilated her by forcing his devouring hands, like a thief, onto her intimate, precious parts. Her soul was dying. With his callous hands and heart, he had numbed her to intimate touch, so that it meant nothing. Her self-worth had been discarded like a used up tissue.
But then she heard take these broken wings and learn to fly and her heart leapt into her throat, so that she could barely breathe. She was broken...but she could learn to fly. She may not fly like those other birds whose wings had never been broken, but the learning and the struggle might make the flight all the more sweeter and make her soul all the more stronger.
You were only waiting for this moment to arise...you were only waiting for this moment to arise...you were only waiting for this moment to arise. These were the words that pierced her heart more than any others. It was like a mantra, words her mind could get lost in during the abuse, when her spirit needed to leave her body. Her moment would come. She would fly away.
This song wouldn't take away her misery, her sorrow, or take away the times feelings of worthlessness would consume her. Those feelings would be a constant weight that sat on her shoulders, and colored her world for many years to come; the fiend that began using her as his own personal pleasure doll when she was only 9 made sure of that. But there were those stolen moments, locked in her room, with her headphones on, that she listened to McCartney sing sweetly the words that gave her a flash of hope, and made her realize her worth. And even if it only lasted for two minutes and eighteen seconds, it was the difference between life and death for her.
And a year and a half later, she did fly away. She flew away to England, so far from California. He never did touch her again.
Though she never felt his hands on her again, the stain of them was still on her spirit, and it would take years more to find another moment to arise. Another moment did arise, though, and she knew she wanted to help all those other blackbirds with sunken eyes and broken wings. She wanted them to know that there is someone else in the world that knows their secret shame, that knows their dark black night and understands. She wanted them to know that they could have their moment too. So, she wrote a blog to put her feelings and experiences out in the world, hoping to reach out to the other broken birds. She heard back from so many, and though she was trying to help them, they were helping her. They were lifting her and giving her courage to keep learning how to fly, and she realized that it's in helping others, using your pain and experiences, that you actually help yourself. And she wanted to help more.
And so, my friends, this is my way of letting you know that I am working on a book. I've had major setbacks legally in pursuing justice with my abuse in the past 9 months since I posted on this blog, and so I feel it is time to write my book. It is fictional, but my own experiences of abuse are the basis of the story. You have all inspired me that we are all in this together, and whatever pain we have endured can be used as motivator to reach out to others and be open and honest in sharing our stories, so that others can gain stregth from realizing they aren't the only broken bird out there.
