Abuse is common in many households and comes in many shapes and forms. Abusers and victims can be men, women, or children. The victims must learn that the abuse is not their fault they were abused and the abusers must learn they have a problem. The song "The Story of Beauty" by Beyounce Knowles is about a young girl's struggle with abuse. The poem "If The Drum Is A Women" by Jayne Cortez tells the abusers to examine himself and correct the problem he has. The pieces relay messages to the abusers and victims in various ways.
             The greatest similarity the poem and song share is the theme of abuse. The song tells a story of a young girl who is abused by her stepfather: "He touched her places that he shouldn't have touched/ he did some things to her he shouldn't have done." The poem also addresses abuse by comparing women to drums: "If the drum is a women/why are you pounding your drum into a insane/babble."
             In the poem and the song repetition is used to make the messages stronger. The poem repeats the line "don't abuse your drum." The poem wants it to be clear to the reader that abuse is wrong. Also the line "and making a drum tragedy of drums" is recurring, to strengthen the point of the poem. In the song, the chorus repeats "young girl" at the end of the first and third line and "you're beautiful" at the end of the second and fourth line. This is done to remind the listener the song is about a young girl. "You're beautiful" is used to tell the victim that regardless of the abuse, she is still a good person. The speaker tries to boost the victims confidence by saying: "You've got so much, so much, so much, so much, so much to be proud of." The speaker recognizes the damage abuse caused to the victim's self esteem and attempts to console the victim.
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