sweat pants, clammy hands
old tshirt
long nights studying, good girl
daytime pretending not to be hurt
saving the tears for when the lights are low
and no one can see
they say, "tell no one, be ashamed
they wouldn't believe you, anyway"
no, no, no, he should be ashamed
he's disgusting, dirty, twisted
don't be afraid to reveal his name
what he did to you has no excuse
they say, "you didn't say no,
so you must have wanted it"
they're wrong, don't you know?
it's not your fault, you're not to blame
short skirt, dark eyes
low cut top
dancing, grinding, kissing
but when she says stop, you stop
"you deserved it, slut
with the way you were dressed
how could you expect him to control himself?
you two were already swapping spit"
but she said no, she said no
and she wasn't asking for it
head down, eyes closed
guilty
because this shouldn't happen to a man
(guess you aren't a real man)
don't tell anyone, don't let them know
they'll look down on you
they'll kick you out, where will you go?
(they won't believe you
why didn't you fight back?
what real men have,
you obviously lack)
but it wasn't your fault
it happens to men, too
don't be afraid to tell someone
that it happened to you
you see the look in their eyes
or maybe you don't,
maybe you're blind
you don't want to reach out
because you blame them
you don't believe that they
are a victim,
but you're wrong
and they're hurting
you're letting it happen all over again
because you won't speak up, you won't reach out
and you won't stand up for them
don't you see that in ignoring the problem,
you're no better than the one who hurt them?
YOU ARE READING
BURN (Wattys2015?)
Poetry"Poetry...is thoughts that breathe and words that burn."--Thomas Gray "Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash." --Leonard Cohen Poems on the tough stuff in life. Poems on the crazy good stuff in li...
