Scared Of
(a response to the poem "Ode to Rape")

So what are you scared of?

Do you fear the look in her eyes that says:
   If you earn my respect.
   I have the power to say no.
   Maybe, if I decide to.
   I am your equal.
But you, knowing that you will never be her equal must 
instead take her with pitiful means.

What are you scared of, big boy?


Do you fear the strength and the dignity and the courage 
that allows her to survive the delivery room table:
  garments stained with sweat,
  legs splayed,
  dripping blood,
  surrounded by strangers,
and yet admist the pain she retains the grace to 
laugh, knowing that she alone can bring life into this 
world.  Her tears are tears of joy. . .and you think you 
have the power to diminish her with pain?

What are you scared of, little boy?


Do you fear the power of her forgiving 
love:
  A love that accepts you with all your faults.
  A love that heals.
  A love that makes you a better person for having received it.
But you, knowing that you are unworthy of such a love, knowing that 
when she looks into your dark interior all she finds is a broken 
soul. . .knowing that you must, like a ill-tempered child with an 
unruly toy crush her, lest the truth of your failings be known to all.

So, tell me:

What are you scared of?

-- S.P.  5/6/98