They said it didn’t happen,
because she woke up the next day,
pasted on a smile,
posted a picture and had another drink.
They said it didn’t happen,
for when he threw his arm around her,
she didn’t shudder,
so she must have enjoyed it.
They will never know, as her clothes will never show,
the blood and bite marks he left on her psyche.
They never tell her that she deserves it.
They only encroach her,
with sly glances, quips, and gropes,
because he did it, and now they can too.
So she sleeps with who she will,
for she owns her sexuality.
and they applaud it – because they own it too.
So now they can empower her and then strip her,
at the same time!
Now boys stand in corners, and put girls in little boxes,
the way they never learnt to put away their toys.
Consent is for the ‘good’ girls who are ‘frigid’ and need a drink to relax,
Whereas ‘no’ is only foreplay by a girl playing coy.
But these are burdens no ‘slut’ has to carry,
because the world will simply not let her.
Renjini Rajagopalan is a human rights trained lawyer, researcher, and a policy wonk. She moonlights as an occasional poet, and posts @myownmuserenj on Instagram.
Featured image credit: Pariplab Chakraborty