It's time to acknowledge those who endure rape and sexualized violence
A villain's life becomes all the people he touches
A rock exploding a thousand grains of sand
And I've had enough of their sob stories, like
"Women Just Don't Like Me, Not One Of Them Finds Me Attractive"
Just this week we learned this guy allegedly raped and killed a reporter
Saying you are pretty and I like you, and I want to have sex with you
And how male rape is the new weapon in Congo
Of course it's in our jails closer to home
Year over year, life over lives
These injuries linger
But if I imagine Eridania Rodriguez
Who went to work not knowing
Not like there was a special sign--
'Sweetie, this is a crypt'
But the damp air --
She passes the night watchman
Her quiet shoes approaching the elevator bank
The service light already lit
Joseph Pabon on duty
His back to her
It's okay if someone wants to keep to themselves
He pushes the usual button
Work my way down
She says unnecessarily
Rests her head
Against the quilted wall
Glad for this job
But it can be lonely
Back of his neck sunburned
Right arm like an over stuffed pillow
He could be young or old
Fat like a baby, flabby like an old man
His left arm is twitching
Eridania needs to check her bottles
Windex, Clorox, Ajax,
Paper towels, TP, hand soap
Air freshener, dust mop, extra rags
Bulbs of light show droplets on his face
Running down the left side of him
Some alarm should be going off
Onions underneath his cologne
But there is so much to do!
Show me your eyes
An old voice scolds her
Show me your eyes her mother'd say
Reaching for Eridania's hands
Coaxing out a marble, a peso
A piece of candy locked in her tiny fist
Sometimes Eridania'd be quick
Stuff it in her mouth
But Mama could always
Smell dishonesty
Mama - Let me keep it!
A chipped cup, stray earring
Turquoise bangle
Something nice enough
To give to her kids
Show me your eyes, Eridania
For her mother, it was never about the object
But about the hiding
What will she find tonight?
Show me your eyes --
She counts the rolls of toilet paper
She loosens the cap to the bleach bottle
The elevator still climbs
Jo is looking at his feet
And then with a jolt it stops, he twists
His face right up close to hers
But his eyes on the floor
Show me your eyes! -- Mama's yelling and begging
Can I give you a paper towel?
He won't look at her like he's afraid
Of his mother
Eridania's trying to be helpful
But it's awkward now
Why will he not look at her?
The light to the elevator is flashing
He'd been blocking it
Can you tell me what you want, Jo?
Wanting to please him
He won't talk, he's dreaming
Or, like she is a fill-in
For someone who must be here
She cannot take her ears off the sound
A crowbar dropping from his right arm
The dull bang, silver duct tape
She shoves her cart at him
He lunges picking metal bar high overhead
She dodges
He hits
She falls, scratches, yells, kicks
Finally her voice roars
GET-OFF-ME!
If only the sound could travel
Down to the ground
Or burst out the windows
Blasting glass like opera singers
He grunts
His red skin is sweaty
Her nails slip, try to get a grip
The bleach spills
The slippery floor
He is taping her like a hog
His snout is runny
A stray hair sticking out
His lids are rippling
Show me your eyes
He fumbles hands the crucifix
He can't rip the tape holding the cross
He heaves, frustrated
He seals and over-seals the cross
Sitting on her stomach
As if to hide atop her belly
Not breathing is so upsetting
She kicks again, again, again
She closes her eyes exhausted
Hears the release of the elevator lock
Feels the change of air
Eridania is not breathing
His is strange, beating to the wrong time
The building is pulsing
She wants to grab his eyeballs
Pop them out
Think of your children
Touching their faces
He is dragging her
She made her children
Every nose, every eye, every freckle
Every curl
All the borrowed and original pieces
Perfection
He's unscrewed something
Her children, her mother are witnesses
And then a rush of frozen air
He's stumbling under her weight
Shoves her into a vent joyless
Oh God, where are you now?
As if to answer - her mind's eye opens to the heavens
Follow Logan Nakyanzi Pollard on Twitter: www.twitter.com/findcreatejoy
I am sick to death and to my stomach of idiots dogs that hurt woman
I am single because woman dont trust any man anymore
you say I love you to a woman they have heard that from twenty other men
you say your attracted to her and your out to get laid
I want to say simply this EVERY SINGLE man that every rapes a woman
is a coward and a dog every man that ever was caught raping a woman
should be castrated on the spot without trial
like they do in other countries
dogs that do these things to woman are not men at all
REAL men love one woman for one lifetime NO matter what
if she leaves him he is free to move on and marry again
but today there is no one left that wants to marry a fourty two year old man
that raised four children alone
I AM alone and I have no desire whatsoever to be with a woman that doesnt want me
A real man wants a woman that wants him needs him and TELLS HIM SO
robert
The deserts in Mexico are littered with the women that nightmare's been visited on. And Rwanda. And a million other places around the world. Men like that are a nightmare and there are so many of them.
Thanks for the being a nightlight to those of us who are still haunted by that nightmare. Thank you for giving her back her name
I apologize. I apologize to women who live in fear of rape or murder, or even daily harassment. The most common attitude of the domestic violence court referred men I used to conduct classes for was that "she deserved it," or "it's her fault" somehow.
I remember seeing my own mother being verbally and physically abused that resulted in attempted suicides and broken bones. I don't know how this gets better until people share our own experiences. Maybe impressing on others the damage that has been done to others can break the cycle. Thanks for the post.
Making rape and domestic violence into gender issues too often cuts men out of the solution through guilt by association. Most men do not rape and do not batter women. But I think many men feel awkward getting involved in these issues because their maleness is portrayed as part of the problem. It is not. True masculinity is about providing for and protecting women and children. A person doesn't rape and batter because he is a man - he rapes and batters because he is not man enough.