TRIGGER WARNING: abuse
grooming is something that we don’t often talk about. most people don’t know what it is. some don’t believe it’s real. i wrote this poem because i wanted to share how it is to be a vulnerable child and have someone older prey on you. so often people turn to the child expecting adult behaviour from them. they ask the child: “didn’t you know what you were doing….what they were doing?” , “if it hurt didn’t you know to leave?” and so on and on and the answer is no. a child’s mind is not able to fully process the trauma and take agency in these situations. a child’s brain is not a fully developed adult brain. it is vulnerable. impressionable. this poem lives on page 54 of home body.
men like him are experts at
smelling out girls like me
the invisible ones
who believe they must be ugly
because their fathers didn’t love them
he said my name
and i had never heard my name
dance off a man’s lips before
give a little attention
to someone who’s never had any
and they’ll be slipping and falling
all over the place
unable to contain the joy
of being wanted
the relief of being discovered
he groomed me into thinking
i couldn’t survive without him
this is how men like him
trap girls like me
Leave a Reply