in which we refer

sometimes it hits me and it hurts

Rape is a dirty word It makes my skin crawl My stomach turn I do not want its connotation

The moment I say I am a rape survivor I met with grief Oh, what a tragedy I am A broken girl from a broken childhood Victimized through her youth

They expect me to be a good survivor A hopeful survivor A it’s all in the past survivor People do not want a survivor who doesn’t feel like they have survived I was lost by his hands

I remember those times vividly The burgundy pajama pants The light of the TV The way he touched me

Pity me if you will But have you ever begged for mercy? I have

Reviews

[Marissa Torres]

I've written many sexual abuse poems throughout my life. I'm 20 years old and the pain still lingers. Writing poetry is a way of surviving above water and an outlet to let it be known that this is not okay. Thank you for sharing this. Myself and many others needed this.

[Davidgeo]

Words are not really what makes your skin crawl. Words are only things you use to describe those awful moments you can't help but remember so vividly. You are much more than that... so use all those words to overcome that, to be more than that incarnate.

And if those words make a few others uncomfortable in the moment, take solace in the fact that they probably don't really know what they are uncomfortable over to begin with... which makes you better, because you see more.

[Bare trees]

Somber poems like this make you shake your head in disbelief. How someone can rape a child is something a normal person can't understand or fathom. I don't, and never will.