With the ragged joy
A torn stocking
Black eyes
Broken
Penniless
Hungry
Bleeding for approval, sustenance
Of any kind, really.
How do you recover from the rape of your innocence?
By dashing off with an adorable jungle cat
An animal with no conscience
In a world with laws and rights for the criminal
and none for the victim.
Get over it
Get over yourself
Aren’t you over it yet?
And the babies cry
Why don’t you busy yourself with their needs
Ignore the wounds
The gaping depth of the hurt
Inflicted upon you
MAN up, woman
Take hold
Get a fucking grip.
You are not the only one waiting in the emergency room
Take a number
Someone will get to you, eventually.
In the meantime
Put a Band-Aid on it.
Wrap it with tape
The dismembered
Disremembered appendage
Of your youth
Is of little consequence
Leave it
Let it go
It is in the past.
But it’s not
Is it?
You’ve been carrying those broken pieces
All along
And they are heavy
Heavier lately
And you can’t forget.
The world marches on
Left, right, left
Trampling the victim
Sending out the message that you no longer matter
With its short memory
helicoptering momentarily overhead
Then off to England, Ukraine, and Russia
For dinner at the Kremlin
Discussion of the game
And the rituals of sheep behavior.
Corney Press 