"On Trial"

[The Wanderer]

on trial

crouching victim
hides in their shame
they told her
she was to blame

that she was not so very proper
she shouldn't have worn
that velvet dress
testimony swarm

"should have known...
it was an invitation"
for lady luck
to risk his temptation

what is the crime
in being me?
I am a woman
not a disease

for man to finger
and blame
for his uncontrollable
insidious flame

scorched her skin
with his lust
now her "virtue"
ashes to dust

inquisitioned by bastards
who stand and mock
the freedom they rape
with tyranny's perpetual cock

who are they
to ask why
she is so pleasing
to the eye

can they not
look upon "beauty"
and feel to usurp
is their masculine duty

the facts
the acts
the haunts
the taunts

in judgment
their guilts and sin
taints the looking-glass
they've hospitalized her in

will she heal
their ancient mind
of archaic notions
that distort and blind

she is
the symptom
of a prisoner
and a victim

 

[Loafer]

sometimes, there are ideas and thoughts that are really too strong to express through the means that we always do - in a logical and explanatory fashion. sometimes, these ideas and thoughts are better expressed in something not so exact - like music or poetry. We may not be able to understand everything about this particular issue, but something like this poem helps us FEEL it. And i think that leads to a higher understanding than any logical turning of the mind, any essay on the subject of rape. Thanks Wanderer.

 

[foray]

I was very angry when I read about the young model who, within less than a month of getting work overseas as a model, was brutally gang raped. Her modelling agency refuses to take the blame for neglecting to protect their employee. She was hospitalised with internal injuries (internal injuries from a gang rape!).

It makes my cheeks burn.

yes, Wanderer; rape is the only instance where the victim is always put on trial.
foray

------------------
"In painting, one must search for suggestion rather than for description, as is done with music." --Gauguin

 

[popkidu2]

the facts
the acts
the haunts
the taunts

 

[zooropamanda]

You never shy away from the taboo subjects. i'd say the makings of a great writer, but I think you're already there.

That just stopped me in my tracks and hit me in the stomach.

 

[Michael Griffiths]

Words are not enough to say how that makes me feel. I commend you for tackling the subject. You met the challenge and than some.

------------------
The Tempest

 

[popkidu2]

I couldn't write anything when I first read that. I wasn't even sure what to write.

Too many guys shy away, pretend it's someone else's problem, not theirs.

More men need to stand up against men who just don't get it.

I'm glad you're one of 'em Wanderer.

I know many women from my life who would simply say "thank you" for having that courage.

Society doesn't want to have faith that this kind of thing happens. Only 10% of all sexual assaults are ever reported. Of that 10%, only 1% go to trial, and of that 1% only 1% see a conviction. There are almost never wittnesses, so they say they don't have evidence to convict.

Imagine telling complete strangers your best sexual experience. Hard to do? Now imagine telling them about your worst, when you were raped. Just slightly harder, right? Now how many women are actually going to go through that ordeal unless it actually happened?

Thank you Wanderer. Thank you for being a leader. Thank you for believing them.

 

[bicyclingfish]

Wanderer, thank you. You speak well for us.

 

[travu2]

Sometimes people in this life seem so shallow and uncaring, but when I read something like this that clearly shows someone cared enough to actually take the time to think about a subject like this.. that made the effort to put themselves in the shoes of others.. then I don't feel so lonely.

 

[Alisaura]

.....

*stands up and applauds*

Yes, thankyou Wanderer...

 

[BabyGrace]

seems to me you did more than just fine with structured poetry there

Wanderer, Amanda is right; listen to her.
you are a far better writer than you ever give yourself credit for

thank you for caring, and thank you for saying what you mean; so many people don't. and thank you for being a person I can admire

 

[The Wanderer]

thank you all, I must say I'm a bit overwhelmed by all this positive feedback, I honestly wondered if I had done a credible job in handling this topic...

I actually wrote quite a bit more, something that dealt with the act in itself, but I let this stand on its own, partly cause I just couldn't say what I wanted to say with it, and also because it would have seemed disjointed if I had combined the two

but no, it's not an easy thing to talk about -- and it shouldn't be, because I am ashamed as a male and as a human that victims are often treated as if they are an accessory to the crime itself -- the victim is quite frequently put on trial as foray pointed out; but all that being said, this shouldn't be a topic that is off limits, because when these things are burried in guilt and no one wants to talk about them because it's "too sensitive an issue," then nothing ever changes...

I sure hope things do change some day, until then, I hope we all find a moment now and then to re-examine what's around us and question the way things are -- and not just accept them

I have noticed that people around here seem to be very good at that, don't ever stop asking questions and demanding answers my friends, write about what you love, what you hate, what you fear, what excites and intrigues you, write about whatever makes your imagination spin, as long as you write it

thanks again, your comments have been greatly appreciated

-------
a place that has to be believed, to be seen

 

[bonovista]

oh God Wanderer..

What a poewrful, right to the gut, poem you have written.

I just happen to have stumbled to this today.

It's just amazing how one can just tell people how their car was broken into, how they were robbed, how they were almost stabbed, but Lord help them if they say how they were raped. People just look at victims with such a look, that furthers dehumanizes them.

Women are so ashamed to speak out, in fear of everything from ridicule to losing her children to an ex spouse, for thinking that maybe the court system will rule her as unfit due to mental stress. It is such a cowardly act on this society to further make the victims feel worse than they should ever feel.

Victims don't want sympathy, they want encouragement. They don't want a lecture, they want support.

I also comment Popkid, who as a male, can't have a better heart..

Thanks both of you..
Marta

 

[Angela Harlem]

One thing you have also managed to do and perhaps it was intentionally, I dont know, but the past tense kind of style hinted at the afterwards. Not the next day or week, or month. But the forever that follows. People, in moments of bravery or strength n talk about an act of rape because perhaps they can 'guess' at what its all about. Or because they can reduce the cruelty because the event doesn't last in itself for more than a short time, in relative terms. But no one knows the lifetime that follows it. Rape isn't just an act. Its a life long crime. It doesn't go away.

 

[foray]

Right on, Angela.