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Today I Would Say
A Poem Written To The Boy Who Grabbed Me
there used to be an innocence to my face
you must have read it as an invitation
to put your unwelcome hand
on my waist, without permission
flanked by your jovial friends
the way I used to tell this story
breaks my heart now
“I stood there on a busy street
bare shoulders but
everything else was covered”
I have tried to underscore
this in my account so many times
to justify that this should not have
happened to me
“so then to whom
should it have happened?”
the woman inside of me retorts
“when would it be acceptable
for this drunken stranger
to grab a woman
in order to command
her attention?”
she asks
do you remember
that my “please don’t touch me”
was met with such anger
you lunged at my body
as your friends held you back?
I was compelled to cross
the street for safety
