This website, for children of all ages,
is dedicated to survivors of child abuse
[ The Little Prince ]
[ Poems (Life from a child's view) ]
[ Notes from BowTie's Owner ]
[ Abuse Survivor Resources ]
On this web page I will take some selected passages from
The Little Prince,
a classic story for children of all ages. There is a little
child or children in each of us but in those who have
been survivors of traumatic child abuse of all kinds--physical,
mental, sexual--the littles within take on a new
dimension. In order to get in touch with these 'inner'
children, we must first 'tame' them, as The Little
Prince teaches us.
"Are you looking for chickens?" the fox asked.
"No," said the little prince. "I am looking for friends. What does that mean--'tame'?"
"It is an act all too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."
"To establish 'ties'?"
"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."
The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.
"Please tame me!" he said.
"I want to, very much," the little prince replied. "But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand."
"One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox. "Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me . . ."
"What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.
"You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me--like that--in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day . . ."
"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."
"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
If teddy bears could talk,![]()
BowTie
by Bethie
He sits upon my bed at night
So I'm not scared without the light
His nose I'll rub three times each day
I send my love to friends that way
Bowtie is more than a toy you see
Oh my gosh, he means so much more to me
Bowtie protects and he defends
I know his love it never ends
Copyright © 1993 Kaitlyn Weathersby
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Sharing Pain with Teddy Bear
by Cindy Pike Dunning
Teddy, I've been bad again,
My Mommy told me so;
I'm not quite sure what I did wrong,
But I thought that you might know.When I woke up this morning,
I knew that she was mad;
Cause she was crying awful hard,
And yelling at my dad.I tried my best to be real good,
And do just what she said;
I cleaned my room all by myself,
I even made my bed.But I spilled milk on my good shirt,
When she yelled at me to hurry;
And I guess she didn't hear me,
When I told her I was sorry.'Cause she hit me awful hard, you see,
And called me funny names;
And told me I was really bad,
And I should be ashamed!When I said, "I love you, Mommy,"
I guess she didn't understand;
Cause she yelled at me to shut my mouth.
Or I'd get smacked again.So I came up here to talk to you,
Please tell me what to do;
'Cause I really love my Mommy,
And I know she loves me, too.And I don't think my Mommy means,
To hit me quite so hard;
I guess sometimes, grown ups forget
How really big they are!So Teddy, I wish you were real,
And you weren't just a bear;
Then you could help me find a way
To tell Mommies everywhere.To please try hard to understand.
How sad it makes us feel;
'Cause the outside pain soon goes a way,
But the inside never heals!And if we could make them listen,
Maybe then they'd understand;
So other children just like me,
Wouldn't have to hurt again.But for now, I guess I'll hold you tight,
And pretend the pain's not there;
I know you'd never hurt me,
So Goodnight, Teddy Bear!
I wear my cover ![]()
The Invisible Wall
by Lynne Bergman
Like the thin plastic film that clings to delicate glass.
Building an invisible wall to keep out painful touches,
Hurtful words.
To ward off the burn of contact with the outside.
But somewhere deep inside,
Where my child lies sad and alone,
We know that same wall keeps us distant from the hugs,
The loving caresses,
Words of support,
Even sometimes, the very air we need to breathe.
But, for today,
We are safe.
© 1999 Lynne Bergman
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The Threads of Love and Hope
by Lynne Bergman
Little hands reaching out from within me
Feet wanting to run and play
Tummies hungry for food
Hearts hungry for love..
Tiny eyes peeking through mine
Ears listening to my world
Little hearts needing to be mended
Little souls surfacing for love
What can we do to fill the empty hearts
Soothe the fears
Dry the tears
Heal the wounds
We listen
We respect
We hold
We comfort
We love
We protect
And in our tapestry of selves
We find the threads of love and hope
We learn to love and be loved.
© 1999 Lynne Bergman
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Stolen Childhood
by Lynne Tait
What was not then, cannot be now
The river does not flow again
The stream does not return to source
Things are not, for they were not then
The time is past that could have been
And now I mourn my poverty
A loss that can't be overlooked
Because it is the loss of me.
The eyes that never looked in mine
To feed my soul with simple care
Will not come now, those days are gone
My heart is bankrupt, nothing there.
The fearless days I should have laughed
Beneath a magic summer sun
They never came; I never learned
The laughter hasn't yet begun.
The trust to reach out tiny hands
Towards a world that would receive
And welcome, that I never had,
I only learned that smiles deceive.
To rest at night secure and snug
Held by a love that guarded me
Oh what a dream! But nightmare was
My bitter actuality.
To be a child .... I never was
Therefore the children still remain
Crying within, unheard alone
Locked in the vastness of their pain.
© 1999 Lynne Tait
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If Teddy Bears Could Talk
by Penny Vaughan
little girl, little treasure,
priceless and pure
then i was robbed.
daddy, why did you betray my trust in you?
you were my hero.
then you came like a thief and stole my innocence.
you stabbed my childlike soul and scarred my mind.
like a broke limb that healed crooked
no one to hear. ears stuffed with noise.
but not with my cry of pain and self rejection
who will rescue me?
why was i abandoned?
why was i punished?
wretched fear trapped within the walls of my heart.
my bed is my tomb.
the child within, died.
escape by fantasy?
escape by death?
escape by eviction?
i will not feel again,
do you hear me daddy where ever you are
i will control my pain.
i will turn off my love
no one can touch my vulnerability.
no one is worthy, trust escapes me.
remember daddy you would say dirty little girl, ugly little girl,
i am not brand new, useful for only giving others pleasure
but then daddy, its been that way since i was 3 yrs old.
i am not deserving of love or kindness you said.
like a broken limb that healed crooked.
who will fix my brokeness?
who will give me value?
does Jesus fix dying trees with withered limbs?
As you say daddy every time we perform for you
YOU ARE THE BEST DOLLY EVER!
My Faithful Friend
by Frog
Sometimes mommy doesn't listen
Daddy's always gone.
I wonder if they love me
or if I've done something wrong.
It helps to find a great big tree
and climb it very high.
And sometimes it just helps
to let my feeling out and cry.
Parents are often busy
and at times I feel alone.
So what I do is look to God,
who lives in my Heavenly home.
I ask for Him to help me
understand when I am sad.
He always reassures me
that I wasn't really bad.
God is always with me
when a friend is what I need.
He fills in for busy parents
until they can get freed.
When mom and dad find time for me
I thank my God above,
for he always gives me comfort
until they can give me love.
©1989 Charli Neal
© Karen Cohen, 1999 I Lost Myself
by Little Karen, Age 7
I lost myself,
I can't be found.
I've looked and looked
around , around, around.
I've lost myself,
I'm safely hid.
I've lost myself,
I did, I did
I hid in the closet
in a storage box
but that would not stop the fox
I hear the steps on the crankey hardwood floor
coming toward me
I'm safe no more.
He opens the door
with his nasty grin
I have learn to play the game
I give in,
with guilt and shame
I am the little girl
with no name.
I am scared, hurt and begin to cry,
Shut up little girl or mommy dies.
Mommy dies , that can't be.
I know she's sick, yes indeed
But I won't have it hanging over my head.
To see my mother my friend dead.
BowTie was given to me, almost 10 years ago, by Bethie, a (then) 6 year old part of the inner family of a dear friend who has multiple personalities. BowTie resides with me in Maryland but his triplet brothers reside with two other members of a little cyberfamily, one in CA with Bethie (Bowtie3) and the other in MI with Tommy, a 6 year old girl who calls him 'Ti' (Bowtie2).
BowTie's magic has brought a sense of safety and love to those who have been able to give him a hug, either a real hug or a cyberhug. (BowTie is very soft and huggable). BowTie has gotten lots of littles, of the inner families of my dear multiple friends, through a lot of crises but he loves to help littles. BowTie, bowtie2 and bowtie3 had a reunion in Atlanta along with their owners and BowTie has been out to CA and out to MI and travelled to visit still another member of our little cyberfamily in IO so he is a well travelled little teddyBear, indeed.
BowTie writes to his little friends and understands them, and he has become more than a 'pretend friend' to them. If you would like to hear from BowTie, write him.