hands off

(t.w molestation)

i try to tell my mother,

only when i open my mouth to speak

my voice does not comply

because my brain won’t let her

this is going to break her

i cannot watch her blame herself

or shed the tears that come with

learning that your child's

innocence was stolen from someone

you were supposed to trust,

at such a young age

i cannot explain what he did

to me when no one was around

to a courtroom where

my family will sit and listen, i

am not strong enough and it has

been killing a part of me

this has been my secret for far

too long and with each year that

passes, i get more and more guilty

that there is only this one secret

that i have not told my mother

who knows absolutely everything else

about me

will i ever have the strength?