This was written for the Blank Noise Blog-a-thon on Street Harrassment. I couldn't think of a clever title so this will have to do for the moment. This is to all the men out there who dehumanise me, and themselves, regularly and don't even realise what they're destroying.
I could meet your eyes
unafraid, and smile
in recognition
the special kind
that strangers share
I could look at you
and feel a perfect
unbroken love,
the kind that springs
from common humanity
I could imagine,
your life and send
a silent hug, air-borne
to your children
who I will never meet.
But it's hard because
your eyes
burn a leer
into my breasts
It's hard because
your hands reach
where they shouldn't
This is my body.
It's hard because
I know that
alone in dark places,
you are a beast.
- Action Hero Anindita
