Teachers' pets.

They taught us well, those first teachers. Our worst teachers. 
We may have forgotten their lessons, but we still follow their rules:  
Sit! Shh! Down! Obey! Roll over! Play dead!


Sit = Stay there, don't move. Don't dare run away.
(We tend to do the same thing with danger, today.)


Shh = Not a whimper, no screams. Don't say a word.
(We still know it's useless to try and be heard).

Down = Under your skirt, under my face. Don't talk with your mouth full.
(We still know our place.)


Obey = Do what I want, do what I say.
(We think it's our choice now, the games that we play.)


Roll over - and over and over again. Don't look for a way out.
(We now lock our own cells and hand out the key.)

Play dead = it's not just your body but your life in my hands.
(Every day we perform, make believe we're alive.)

We "grow up", we "forget", we "get on with life", we "put it behind us". But years after the abuse, we still face life and respond to it in the same way we did as children. The abusers are alive and well and living inside our heads. Knowing this will not make them vacate the premises. But it's a starting point.