I Watch – One ICAC Detective’s Poetic Perspective
June 6, 2011
We wanted to share this moving poem written by ICAC Detective Shawn Cronce, which she shared with us following her attendance at our SHIFT Training at the 2011 National Strategy Conference on Combating Child Exploitation in San Jose, CA.
Thanks Detective Cronce!
I watch.
I watch your abuse
I watch everyday
I watch as you scream
Or try to wiggle away
I watch as you cry
I watch as you pray
For God to come save you, to take you away
I watch when most can’t
I watch in disgust
My heart breaking more, with every touch
Your innocence stripped from you, outright stolen
Your little red eyes all puffy and swollen
You have been violated in the worst of ways
I watch, I watch, I watch for days
I watch for clues for things he has missed
I watch, I watch, I’m getting pissed
Your little body all tattered and broken
I watch as he makes you his own little token
I watch and I see your tear hit the pillow
And realize mine are sure quick to follow
I watch and I pray
For the strength to keep watching, watching everyday
I watch to catch him, to put him away
Lord please help me fight off this depression
God only knows how I want to teach him a lesson
I watch so forgive me as I take no joy
In the sexual abuse that you must endure
I watch his face when I come through that door
When he knows he can’t hurt you, not anymore
Now I watch as you heal and you learn how to grow
Without the abuse that you’ve come to know
I watch as you look me straight in the eye
Without saying a word I know what you’re thinking
You’re thankful I watched everyday without blinking…
© Detective Cronce
