Trigger warning - Rape

 Rape is forever

Nothing from the time 

Before I was raped 

Can ever be returned

No matter what happens 

I will always have been raped

My rapist may be caught

My rapist may be tried in court

They may be convicted and sentenced

My rapist may be jailed 

They may even be dead

I will always be a rape survivor 

Nothing can fully restore the trust

Nothing can ever completely remove the fear

Nothing will ever stop my reaction to other rapes

Regardless of how well I function or cover

I will always have been raped

Rape forever ties my relationships to power

I can give my heart 

I can give my love

I can give my allegiance 

But I will never completely give my power

Nine years old, twelve years old

Twenty years old, thirty-five years old

When it happened doesn’t change

I will have been raped for the rest of my life

You cannot love me enough to take it away

You cannot protect me enough to remove it

Regardless of how much happiness I achieve

No matter how healed or fixed I am

I will always see myself as damaged

I will always have been raped 

Even if you never see it in my eyes

Even if you never hear it in my voice

Even if I never tell you the story

For whatever reason I share or do not

I will always have been raped 

I’m not seeking your pity

(I do not need it)

I’m not asking you to fix it

(Your best efforts will not)

I’m not asking you to understand

(Although it would be great)

I’m asking you to know

I will always have been raped 

Rape is forever

© Ron Simpson Jr

October 15, 2020