deepundergroundpoetry.com
She was Asking for It
Until I was seventeen I was afraid of every man I met
It was confusing to my mother who'd seen no reason yet
For me to shake in my boots as they smiled so sweet
But I knew those smiles turned when they went into heat
I froze in the face of hands looming
Scared because I knew bruises would be blooming
If flinches twitched and twitches flinched
If I even moved an inch
And roaming hands and too wet tongues
Stretching over skin where no growth had begun
Touching places I didn't yet need besides basic human function
Touching places that would one day lead to reproduction
And I did not know how wrong it was when all they said
Was "it's just fine" and "it's all right", even as I bled
Only years later, when the fourth grade rolled around
Did I realize what had gone down
Fourth grade when they taught about bodies and all they could do
And yet all I could feel was fear all the way through
Reminded of the promise of bruises under my clothes
And the way they swore that nobody could know
The home that now, while void of his traces
Sent my heart beating like it was off to the races
Under my clothes and beneath childlike breast
It beat so hard to get out of my chest
"Escape!" it screamed in utter agony
But I knew there was no escaping this anatomy
These bones and skin would remain a prey
Meant for men who were entitled to play
And 'no's mean nothing when they choose not to hear
Or get off on bringing you fear
These men on the streets making us paranoid
When sometimes it's the men in our homes we should avoid
And when they say that "she was asking for it"
Ask yourself, would you say the same if it were your kid?
Your sister, your mother, or wife?
Rape is like murder, without taking life
It was confusing to my mother who'd seen no reason yet
For me to shake in my boots as they smiled so sweet
But I knew those smiles turned when they went into heat
I froze in the face of hands looming
Scared because I knew bruises would be blooming
If flinches twitched and twitches flinched
If I even moved an inch
And roaming hands and too wet tongues
Stretching over skin where no growth had begun
Touching places I didn't yet need besides basic human function
Touching places that would one day lead to reproduction
And I did not know how wrong it was when all they said
Was "it's just fine" and "it's all right", even as I bled
Only years later, when the fourth grade rolled around
Did I realize what had gone down
Fourth grade when they taught about bodies and all they could do
And yet all I could feel was fear all the way through
Reminded of the promise of bruises under my clothes
And the way they swore that nobody could know
The home that now, while void of his traces
Sent my heart beating like it was off to the races
Under my clothes and beneath childlike breast
It beat so hard to get out of my chest
"Escape!" it screamed in utter agony
But I knew there was no escaping this anatomy
These bones and skin would remain a prey
Meant for men who were entitled to play
And 'no's mean nothing when they choose not to hear
Or get off on bringing you fear
These men on the streets making us paranoid
When sometimes it's the men in our homes we should avoid
And when they say that "she was asking for it"
Ask yourself, would you say the same if it were your kid?
Your sister, your mother, or wife?
Rape is like murder, without taking life
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