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This poem beautifully states many contradicting thoughts that going through abuse may cause you. Through this poem I was able to learn some of the reasons why people do not bother to stand up for themselves. Being abused is a psychological game and can bring cognitive discomfort. When in this circumstance, many people are convinced it is serving them well or that they did want it, even when they did not. It shows that just because someone is familiar or known to you, does not make it an excuse or even make it okay. A lot of women are silenced due to how conversations and sensations are interpreted in our brains.

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When Yrsa Daley-Ward wrote the poem "bone" years ago, it came to her as many of her poems do: in the morning, just after waking up, and she wrote what hit her, in an attempt to tell the truth about something not often said.

The result is a poem that speaks plainly of sexual abuse through a series of numbered but unnamed aggressors who get away with what they do in different ways: "From One / who says, 'Don't cry. You'll like it after a while,'" she writes. "And Two who tells you thank you / after the fact and can't look at your face."

Daley-Ward has been reading the poem aloud for years on tour for her poetry collection, also called " bone," which first came out in 2014 and was just expanded and reissued. But she said that in the last few weeks, after revelations that Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed or abused dozens of women, she's felt a different energy in the room.

"I have a lot of poems that are loud and energetic. But this one, it's palpable what comes over the room when I read that. Because the poem doesn't hold back... Because it's become a thing we need to talk about right now, at this moment... Because it's nearly every woman's experience."

Daley-Ward, whose poetry has spread widely over the past few years on social media, particularly Instagram, and whose book has sold so many copies it's now available in places like Target and Urban Outfitters, said it's encouraging to see the poetry reach across age, class and gender.

But women in particular have connected with her poetry, she said, because her poetry addresses issues that affect women - issues that aren't always openly talked about.

"It's sexism, it's misogyny, it's violence. But it's beautiful things also, it's pleasure, it's sex, it's falling in love," she said. "And these issues affect everyone as well."

In the poem "bone," she said, she chose to use numbers for each of the aggressors because that's how people like Weinstein view women, "as one after the next after the next."

As of Monday, 38 women had come forward to accuse the Hollywood producer of sexual misconduct, which was followed by accusations against Amazon Studios head Roy Price and the video game developer Naughty Dog. At least two male actors also came forward to talk about sexual harassment they'd faced in their career.

But "bone" ends in perhaps an unexpected place, not with anger but with an expression of gratitude, for how the body puts itself back together.

"Thank heavens you're resetting," she writes, "ever / setting and / resetting... How else can the body survive?"

Read the full poem and listen to Daley-Ward read it aloud below:

bone
by Yrsa Daley-Ward

From One
who says, "Don't cry.
You'll like it after a while."

and Two who tells you thank-you
after the fact and can't look at your face.

To Three who pays for your breakfast
and a cab home
and your mother's rent.

To Four
who says,
"But you felt so good
I didn't know how to stop."

To Five who says giving your body
is tough
but something you do very well.

To Six
Who smells of tobacco
and says "Come on, I can feel that
you love this."

To those who feel bad in the morning yes,
some feel bad in the morning

and sometimes they tell you
you want it
and sometimes you think that you do.

Thank heavens you're resetting
ever
setting and
Resetting

How else do you sew up the tears?
How else can the body survive?

Yrsa Daley-Ward is a writer and poet of mixed West Indian and West African heritage. Born to a Jamaican mother and a Nigerian father, Yrsa was raised by her devout Seventh Day Adventist grandparents in the small town of Chorley in the North of England. She splits her time between London and Los Angeles.

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This poem shows what sexual abuse looks like

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When Yrsa Daley-Ward wrote the poem "bone" years ago, it came to her as many of her poems do: in the morning, just after waking up, and she wrote what hit her, in an attempt to tell the truth about something not often said.

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“I remember running out of the room, scared and confused. He acted as if nothing had happened.”

In this story, Juliana shares a deep part of her childhood where she was taken advantage of. Another thing that is being explained in this story that I have not mentioned before is how much harder it makes it to stand up to someone when the people you trust try to question you and your traumatic experience. Juliana's mother was in disbelief and kept on asking her if she was 100% it was true. Juliana then had her little sister born which made her nervous for her safety. This was her breaking point and what influenced her to tell authorities if thats what it was going to take to protect her sister. In this case, Juliana did not do it for herself, but for the safety of someone she loved, which was enough to motivate her to stand up to her abuser.

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"I remember running out of the room, scared and confused. He acted as if nothing had happened."

Julianna Araujo's stepfather used to babysit her after school until her mother returned from work. It was on one of these afternoons, when Julianna was just eight years old, that he first exposed himself to her. Over the next six years, the abuse escalated, and home became an unsafe environment.

"While most people visualized their house as a safe place, I saw mine as a jail. I felt like I was a prisoner in my own home."

Perpetrators of child sexual abuse are most often someone the victim knows, which can make it difficult for children to recognize these actions as abuse or to come forward about what is happening. Julianna kept the abuse a secret for several years, fearing that she would upset her mother who was so happy to be married to her new husband.

Julianna made several attempts to run away from home. When she finally told her mother the reason behind her fears and unhappiness, she was met with disbelief. "She sat me down from sun up to sun down and kept asking me over and over again, 'are you sure?'" Shortly after, Julianna's mother sent her to live with her estranged father. "She had given up on me," Julianna remembers. "Could a mother do that?"

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"I remember running out of the room, scared and confused. He acted as if nothing had happened." Julianna Araujo's stepfather used to babysit her after school until her mother returned from work. It was on one of these afternoons, when Julianna was just eight years old, that he first exposed himself to her.

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"In all, more than 100 athletes have filed suit against Nassar and USA Gymnastics, alleging that the organization was complicit in not addressing reports of sexual abuse adequately."

This article explicitly tells the story of Aly and her teammate McKayla who were both famous young gymnasts that had been abused by Nassar for years, even as young as 13 years old. Aly's motive to stand up against him was to show the younger girls that look up to her that if she can do it, they can do it too. She understood the power she had to make a change so she went ahead and did something that would likely make her uncomfortable. McKayla, on the other hand, was someone who was so influenced by Raisman that she too came forward to find her own inner peace and again affect those who look up to her.

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Aly Raisman Opens Up About Sexual Abuse by USA Gymnastics Doctor Larry Nassar

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The Olympic gymnast says she feels betrayed by both Nassar and USA Gymnastics

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Aly Raisman speaking against Larry Nassar

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Aly Raisman speaking against Larry Nassar

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USA Gymnastics National Team Doctor, Larry Nassar, was confronted by Aly Raisman in court to be charged with sexual assault. Aly Raisman was an Olympic gymast who was one of many women in the industry that had been sexually violated for years by him. Her driving motive to speak up was how many young adults and girls look up to her and she wanted them to feel safe coming forward if they ever had this issue. She is a force to be reckoned with and an inspiring individual who wanted to be the start of something that would influence women everywhere to take a stance for what they believe is right.

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Watch Aly Raisman confront Larry Nassar in court

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This phone number and organization has been made to help those whose voices feel silenced in a situation where they feel they hold no power. This hotline has offered people who are scared and do not know what to do in this given circumstance a place to finally let free. Most people who are dealing with sexual abuse do not know how to deal with their emotions as well as stand up for themselves to find freedom and closure.

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RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available.

Crisis Support Service

Sexual Assault and Harassment

National Sexual Assault Hotline: a service of RAINN

National Helpline for Male Survivors: a service of 1in6

Domestic and Dating Violence

Other Victims of Crime

Additional Resources

Get RAINN Updates:

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National Sexual Assault Hotline: Confidential 24/7 Support

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RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available.

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I Use Art When I Feel The Urge To Help People Surviving Psychological Abuse

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The following black and white drawings were created by Kate Evans. She started drawing art pieces like this in order to help others who are going through any sort of abuse and they feel as if they are alone. Pictured in the photo is a girl who is finally able to stop the hand of her abuser. This art piece on its own shows strength and perseverance. What helped the girl in the drawing stand up for herself? Feeling like enough is enough and knowing she is worth more than how she is being treated.