The Victims

“The Victims” is largely written as a retrospective poem from the point of view of an adult speaker reflecting on their childhood. The poem begins with a clear and unambiguous statement: “When Mother divorced you, we were glad” (Line 1). The action, on the part of the mother, signifies that it was the mother’s decision, and not the father’s. The “we” (Line 1) represents the children—or possibly other family members of whom the speaker was a part—who sided with the mother. This opening declaration is followed by a slightly more ambiguous line in which the speaker rationalizes the mother’s decision: “She took it and / took it, in silence, all those years” (Lines 1-2). The speaker does not define what “it” is, but tells the reader that it was taken “in silence” (Line 2). The fact that “it” was taken in silence signifies that for many years the mother was powerless against the father and had no voice. However, that all changed when she suddenly kicked out the father (Line 3). “[H]er / kids loved it” (Lines 3-4), the speaker states, insinuating that the children had also taken “it” (Line 2) “in silence” (Line 2) and stood in solidarity with the mother’s decision to rid the family of their father.