Eighteen
Formulae for Rape
“There
is no folly of the beasts of the earth which
is
not infinitely outdone by the madness of men.”
-Herman
Melville, Moby Dick
1.
A bench. A breakroom. A parking lot
This form of rape is where it’s been
On the couch, a canyon, a moaning wide backseat
2.
Then the fear, a
dedicated space
A new rule network of the brain
3.
Rape has evolved
It comes from the bone
Taught in the sinews
How the blood flows
As action potential
From our forefathers
4.
On the stand
In the courtroom
In depositions with ash
trays
5.
Rape is onlookers
circled, thrusting
Cell phones, uploading
Rape is in a chant
6.
Rape is a sexual position
One’s inability to enjoy again
7.
Rape is everywhere on the minds of men
8.
Rapists and War
Rape is in war
9.
The act finds solace in muscle
Inequity, in power
10.
It is in the call to police
In the come-down-to-the-station
In questions and badges
In the kit
11.
Rape is a memory
Positive feedback cycles
Groups, books, therapy
12.
Rape is in the animal world
And is not called rape
13.
Rape is teaching your little girl stranger danger at
age 4
14.
Rape is a crying shame
15.
It’s on the mind on a lovely walk
In the woods/along the shoreline
An ocean liner after ten, vibrating engines at the
prow
16.
The expected jail cell
An unexpected monastery
A marriage bed
After a nursery rhyme
17.
It’s the number of times stored in his head
18.
Rape is carved into Grandma’s face
But not on her gravestone
In the long grasses of memory
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