What They Stole From Me by Shelley Tracey

Shelley Tracey

Shelley Tracey’s poetry collection Elements of Distance was published by Lapwing (2017). Other poems have been published in The North, Abridged, The Haibun Journal, Artemis, The Honest Ulsterman, Skylight 47, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Drifting Sands, Bangor Literary Journal, North West Words, Stag Hill Journal, Orbis and Ink, Sweat and Tears, and anthologies such as Washing Windows V and Bloody Amazing. Shelley has received several awards from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, including a Major Artist Award in 2025.

Shelley Tracey drew on her creativity and her love of writing poetry to help her recover from an assault. In 2021, she took part in an online panel discussion and poetry reading on the theme of writing in response to sexual violence against women (Clear Lines Festival/Nexus organisation). 

What they stole from me

The contents of my handbag, every last cent in my purse,

My car key, household items, screwdrivers and a knife,

A child’s blue pillowcase they stuffed with bottles of red wine,

My wedding set, the golden band and nested diamond, 

My emerald ring, the only thing I owned that was my granny’s, 

My soft green bedroom carpet where they forced me on my back,

My phone flex, ripped from the wall and stretched to bind my feet together,

The new white shirt I wore that day, stained with the shame and hurt of it,

The bliss of my post-partum body, milky and serene,

The hour or even longer when they took my newborn from me,

not knowing if they’d harm her or if I’d survive to hold her,

Friends and family who avoided me, fearing contamination. 

What my daughter’s partner gave her:  

a loving family circle, a safe new home, a brand-new emerald ring.