Photo: Wikipedia Commons–Labeled for Non-Commercial reuse.
the death of innocence
a quadrille
she would fly away
she said
fly far away into the blue
blue sky to flee
unwanted touches
such a child
abused by trusted hands
has disappeared beyond
horizon’s view
within the sheltering basket
of a red and gold balloon
a child no more
De offers the word BALLOON for today’s Quadrille at dVerse—a poem of exactly 44 words. The word connotes joy, childhood, adventure in my mind but after reading an investigative report about an appalling cover-up by a local school district, I couldn’t go there.
The district ignored 34 years of student complaints about a teacher who was systematically sexually abusing them by issuing written warnings and transferring him from school to school. What were they thinking?
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 
Very moving, Victoria. Poetry at its best will shed light on intolerable situations happening in the world to give them a voice. You did it brilliantly.
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The biggest tragedy is that this story is not unique. I hope some of those children found their joy again!
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This is heartbreaking. But you wrote about the topic so tenderly and beautifully.
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What a horrible situation. As a teacher I cringe whenever I hear stories like that. I can’t even imagine what would possess someone to behave that way.
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I appreciate how you’ve taken something ordinarily happy and used it as a poignant commentary of a tragic situation.
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I wish I could say this rarely happens, but we all know the terrible truth. Beautiful writing, Victoria.
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Makes my blood boil…too often this kind of approach has been taken in these instances. Why always protection for the abuser? Churches, schools, hospitals, care homes…the list goes on.
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This is so incredibly sad!
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Tragic…she doesn’t suffer now, her life mattered.
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A death and a valiant escape route. A powerful poem. Merely transferring a predator is profoundly tragic.
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A child grows up fast once an important decision is made!
Hank
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i hope we can bring happy balloon to those children.
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Oh dear.. a sad reality indeed. I hope these kind of cruelty end soon. Sigh.
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oh this is a sad tale that is sadly still happening. 😦 such depths in few words, Ma’am.
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oh my, this tugs at the heartstrings so sad, when will this madness stop.
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Wow this little quadrille packed a punch of emotion. Well done.
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This is sad… penned so lovely to tell their story.
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All who were in involved in shifting him from school to school should be imprisoned…for a lifetime!
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this was beautiful in all its sadness and a powerful homage to abused children, I vainly hope we never have a need for that sheltering basket rather our arms to provide the comfort instead. Sad and beautiful from your heart it speaks volumes.
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I am surprised they tried to cover this up.
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Children’s lives are swallowed up by such tragedies, Victoria! There is nor adequate language to use for these twisted crimes! Thanks for putting the spoghtlight on it
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So sad, Victoria. And what a way to escape, ‘within the sheltering basket / of a red and gold balloon’.
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Oh this is just heart-breaking 😦 a tragic and common story that leaves me wondering what our world has come to..
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So sad, and so true. Very moving.
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Your ability to encapsulate an incredibly sad story in 44 words leaves me in awe. Bravo!
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Stark contrast between the lovely, airy imagery and the story behind it.
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Nice BLOG!!! ADD my BLOG too!!! Kisses!!!
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Wow, you packed a novella & a political/moral rant into such a tight package. Your explication spurred a second reading–thanks.
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This is so sad and tragic to read Victoria!
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This poem penetrates straight to the heart. Such sadness so well captured … and that last line …..
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This is just heartbreaking.. and it has happened so often. I hope that the cover-up will cease, maybe at least it stops with the first few… what where they thinking indeed.
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Oh, Victoria. This crushed my heart. So well written, and an all-too-common horror story.
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That’s horrible but sadly we hear things like this much too often… thanks for writing about it.
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A very sad and familiar tale of the failings of those in positions of trust and we do not know the full story behind it all. A beautifully penned and very moving quadrille Victoria 💖 xxx
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