Walking to the bathroom in Lowe's.
The Lighting Aisle.
A man rounds the corner,
White-haired, Caucasian
"Whoa, how you doin'?"

Stunned, I barely register,
but turn my eyes down and hurry on.

Only later do I remember
the way his eyes traveled my body,
the way his words felt
like I felt nothing at all
Only later do I process,
what a disgusting perv!

At an art festival that night
I find myself watching every man around me
Panicking in a pizza place bathroom

Later, thinking on it,
I am angry.
I should have screamed and made a fuss
but I turned my eyes down and hurried on.
Why am I always silent when the time comes?

Sixth grade, middle school,
That's when it begins
The competition, the bullying,
Trying to fit in,

Trying to fit in
But standing out all the same
Trying to belong,
But left out of everything
Their words begin to sink in
Like seeds,
They breed self conciousness
She longs for the 'me'
She used to be
The one with self-esteem

But she's let their words define her
They bind her, hold her, keep her
Blind, unable to see
The beauty on the inside
On the outside, on her tear-washed face

She keeps it bottled up inside
Afraid to tell anyone,
She thinks she's the reason why
But the reason she feels so dark inside isn't her.

I know the feeling.
The feeling of foreign hands in your body
Against your will
Your throat becomes tight
Your tongue becomes numb
Your mind goes blank
Your body starts to shake heavy
This is it. He wins over
He might had the physical power
to use your body to his pleasure
But tu, mujer are stronger than he is.
The aftermath will want to shut you down
but use your tongue to bring justice.
Dont let fear make you inferior.
Dont let him prey for the next girl.
Dont let another voice be let unheard.