I see you as I go to and fro
Walking with purpose and strength
Past atrocities denied by your ever-present glow
The message of less than, intentionally embedded in your wavelength
Admired for your beauty, chastised for your intelligence, firmly denied when you choose to speak up, to grow
Society tears you down over and over
Don’t you know you are property?
When men approach you and you say no, they do not hear you
Property has no audible voice
And so, they plunge ahead with unwanted advances
Why would you think you had a choice?
So painful to not be believed but to instead be asked “what did you do?” Asked
Answered
Asked
Answered
Asked…and
Answered
Education was required, mandated by your new fate
It was all good until you used that education to analyze and began to again walk up straight
Eyes no longer cast down
Mouths no longer willing to apologize for your wants, your truths and your needs
You want to be heard, they look on with a frown
The truth is that a sexual assault was committed
Against you
The pain sometimes returns
What can you do
Try hard to forget
You need justice
You need for the random ways you are reminded of what you endured and the many times you are unwillingly transported back to it, to stop
You need those who have committed these acts to know that there will be repercussions
You are living yours
You want them to feel skittish too, to wonder when the shoe will drop
I am inspired when I hear of your triumphs and your victories
The sharing of your truths
You who somehow manage to retain your dignity in the face of societal indecencies and yes, criminal behavior
The little ones are in awe of you
You who keep the wheels on the bus running when they violently shake and rattle and threaten to fall off
My dear sisters of every size, shape and hue
Because of you, they will never believe the lie, the story
They will immediately know the shame belongs only to the monster
In case you have not heard this before, hear it now, in all its glory
YOU DID NOTHING
If you went to his location
You did nothing
If you had too much to drink and even showed its effects
You did nothing
If your dress was too short
You did nothing
If the “girls” were showing and looked a bit enticing
You did nothing
Someone failed to teach him that you are not to touch intimate parts of another’s body without clearly given consent
What he did was fail to subdue the monster within
Shame on him
Shame too on those with similar anatomy who sit in the decider’s box and say nothing, and thus by their acquiescence allow what you wore to be part of the continuing narrative
Yes, I see you as I go to and fro
Walking with purpose
Cloaked in strength,casting a shadow with your fearlessness
Glow on