I sometimes wonder what they knew, and how they felt

For the 25 Girls

September 18, 2006

This is for the 25 girls in my grade 9 gym class.

For the girls who knew what went wrong

And the ones who never noticed.

For the ones who cared,

And the ones who were scared and ashamed.

For the girls who spoke like a well of tears

And the ones who were silent.

For the ones who blamed themselves.

For the girls who never questioned the blood stains the next class.

And those who never came back.

For the girls I finally told,

And the ones I loved too much to tell.

For the girls who begged me to cheer on their teams

And the ones who realized that I’d never go back.

For the girl who discovered my torn clothing the next day;

If she wondered where it came from, or never asked.

If she knew inside.

If she told.

My name was written in sharpie on the tags.

This is for the girls who left the school

And never found out.

And the ones who knew who did it.

This is for my friends

Who were never the same

And the girl whose face

Was the last thing I saw before his.

I still think her face is beautiful.

This is for the 25 girls who were with me

The day I was raped

After grade 9 gym class.