Have you ever sat in a circle where the perimeter is made up of rape victims?
Awkwardly trying not to make eye contact, so that they don’t see too much of me
Have you ever heard women try to sadly recreate the night, the morning, the day that it all happened?
Have you ever understood those feelings, leaking through the hole in their face?
Or hearing a baby cry in the background, having the mother turn to remind her it’s the product of rape
I can’t say I understand all those emotions sinking to the lowest point of my gut
But I can feel his hands sliding over my lips to stop my screams
To stop my NO
I can taste his lips laying heavy on top of mine cutting my words at their roots
He penetrated and stripped me
He penetrated my mind, my rights
I can smell the fragrance of anger from his breath
Cold like steel
Reminding me to hold still
I can see the grin on his face,
His hands touch my hips
“Baby it’s okay”
He beat crack marks on my body, and assumed that gluing it together with his semen would work
He penetrated and stripped me
He penetrated my mind, my rights
I can hear the missing breaths in my voice every time I build the courage to speak
So hearing a woman not flinch, not cry when speaking of the horror
Makes my spine curl and tuck my head into my stomach
Because I don’t have her courage, or the heart to accept that he will NEVER understand how I feel
To have someone deny you of a right
He penetrated and stripped me
He penetrated my mind,
My rights,
To say NO