Growing up
We’re told that
We should
Watch our drinks at parties
Not go out alone
Carry pepper spray
Don’t talk to strangers on the street

But no one ever warns you
About the boy with the brown eyes
Who tells you
“You’re pretty”
Who takes you on your first
Real dates

No one warns you
About the boys
Who try to impress you
The ones
Who steal your heart
And make it flutter

Those are the boys
Who you should be careful about
They know their intentions
As well as you do

I don’t remember much
About that night
It was filled with cheap alcohol
And the smell of the fire

I do remember
Telling you "No":
That no matter how much I drank
I didn’t want
What came
Later that night

I woke up the next morning
Feeling regret and blaming myself
I cried to my friends
As I did my makeup in front of the mirror

You took something from me
That I can never get back
But I didn’t talk about it
For quite some time
Because I thought
It was my fault

But as I grew
I realized
What you actually did

Now I do not blame myself
I only blame you