Fear

She isn't alone
Her friend walks beside her
They turn to the street
At the bottom of which
Their destination is
And they stop for a second
Hearts beating faster
For the streetlights
So few, are too dim to light up the road
And then they hear the voice of a man
Fear for their lives
For although
Dressed modestly
Sober
And everything else
That society promises
Is a protective shield
They are afraid
Of the unlit road
And the presence of a man

She pretends she's not bothered
By what they have to say
About the way her hair is
The way she walks
She pretends to not hear them
Even thought her fist is clenched tightly
Her jaws grinding
To keep her anger at bay
And then she feels something brush against her
And her body goes cold
Is it one of them
She wonders
Too afraid to check
Their voices in a distance
Tell her she's safe
And yet her legs feel like jelly
Her lungs gasping for air

She holds his arm tightly
Tries to steady him
But he's too heavy for her to
Walk to the car
She is afraid he’ll lose his balance
Trip and fall to the ground
But most of all, she’s afraid of
What he can do to her
And so when they get back home
And her father staggers to his room
She goes straight to her own and
Locks the bedroom door
And all that night she cannot sleep
Too afraid to make any noise
Afraid that even the smallest noise
Could earn her beating or something much worse

She’s seated in a bus back home
When he sits next to her
And as his elbow touches her hip
She shudders quite a bit
He’s just reaching for his wallet
But she can’t help but fear
He is just another pervert
Hungry for female flesh
And when he spreads his legs slightly
Gets more comfortable
She clutches on to her bag tightly
Wonders what she could do
And until he gets up
Goes to the front of the bus
And then gets down at his halt
It is only then that she can
Relax just a bit

She lives her whole life in fear
Even though she shouldn’t
But such is life, it’s all your fault, men will be men
Society never fails to say