Catie Bryant

Your Words Weigh on my Shoulders

You

Your words brand the bodies of girls

From the clothes that cover our bodies

To the responsibilities we are expected to shoulder

While boys are taught that stripping the clothes from our bodies is laudable

That “Boys will be boys”

and

The decisions boys make should not determine their success as men

Girls are taught to “take it” when their bodies are anything but their own

Boys are taught that “no” means “yes” and consent is trivial

That girl's bodies are his to claim and she is to blame

When her body is anything but her own

With this,

You say we have changed

“So much progress has been made”

But what you call progress is the exacerbation of ways you choose to defend those who assault

Not in the way that the assaulted are still blamed

How can you defend them

so easily when you know,

You know of those who scrub the inside of their thighs raw

Trying to erase your fingertips from their skin

When you know,

To pretend rape is as irrelevant as the words of a victim is to suppress

Suppress those who wish to speak

You wrap a sheet of darkness around rape

Hiding it away

When she comes forward speaking her truth

You silence her

You silence those who are calling

Calling for help

Erasing the truths of rape

Erasing like those who try to erase your fingertips from their skin

You encourage those who so ruthlessly rape

Again & again

You silence those who are calling

When you hear the calls of those who desperately need your help

And you do nothing

Nothing

Nothing is what you leave those who you assault with

You strip them of their rights as you strip them of their clothes

Ruthlessly

To all of the bystanders…

You chose to do nothing as you watched her suffer

Nothing is everything to her

You could have helped

You chose to do nothing

For those who dismiss assault as if we are not suffering,

You covered her with the same sheet of darkness you cover rape with

Shedding light on the one who hurt her

Excusing him.

Because “Boys will be boys” and you think consent is trivial

You hurt her.

You helped him.

She did nothing wrong.

He did everything wrong.

Yet she is the one silenced and he is the one given another chance

So many do not come forward because of you
Yet you continue

Continue to shame

Silence

& suppress

You say it is easy for her to speak her truth

But what if her truth haunts her in her sleep

Whispers in her ear & pierces her soul

How can she be expected to tell the world of her nightmares

When to speak her truth is to expect being told she is wrong

To be shot down by the very ones who wanted her to speak

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

I know that what happened is not my fault.

But I do know that it is my responsibility to heal.

Things will change

They must.

Those voices you have locked away for so long in a cage

They are strong

They are loud

Clawing at the bars that withhold them demanding to be heard

You may have the key to this cage

But we do not need it

For we shall escape from your prison

Without your permission

Can you hear it?

Voices loud enough to reshape these bars you have placed

Shape them into our own weapons

Your abuse of power will be your worst enemy

Just wait

We will not let our voices be silenced by you

We are strong

& you will not strip us of everything any longer

It is time for a change whether you want a revolution or not

We are strong

Stronger than you perceive us to be

Stronger than the words you brand our bodies with

We will not be dismissed any longer

For we speak our truth

& our voices will be heard.