Hey,

I was wondering......Do you happen to know any poems that deal with Rape?
be it written on the actual experience or about living with the memory of it?

Thanx anyway,

Daniella.

Daniella, go here:

[www.google.com] />

Les

It will be EASY to find poems about rape by going to websites that deal with sexual assault. Or do a websearch for [rape + poem] or ["sexual assault" + poem].

The difficulty will be reading a great deal of most very raw material by survivors of rape, and (if you need to) finding the poems that hold up well outside of that particular setting.

===========

So, eMule folks, let's try to come up with some poetry that fits the topic even if the WORD rape doesn't appear in it.

My first thought is: After the rape in TITUS ANDRONICUS, obviously Lavinia doesn't say anything (she's mute), but her uncle Marcus has a long speech when he finds out what was done to her.

There's a plain text of the play at
[www.cs.usyd.edu.au] />
To find that speech, search for "my niece".

==============

More ideas?

Kimberlee's Poem

#43

Ripping claws
Tearing my flesh,
You are eating me alive

Fear and violence
Are all you possess
And yet, I do not cry.

They pull you off,
A slathering beast,
You stare hungrily for more.

Bleeding and battered,
The remnants for your feast,
Scattered violently across the floor.

- Kimberlee

This is about seven years of torture, from when I was five until I moved across the country four years ago. My cousin, with full awareness of what he was doing, raped me repeatedly and threatened to kill me if I ever told. Even now, it's hard to tell. I was taught to not hate, but I cannot help a hatred for him that manifests my soul. I try not to remember, I try to forget, but all too often memories hit my soul and force tears down my cheeks. I figured it's about time that I deal with it. It's about time I come bare-faced to the world and say, look at me. Look what happened. Just look.


There are many more poems like this here:

[www.geocities.com] />
WARNING: Some of these are graphic use your own common sense.


Les

It fell on a sommer's day - Thomas Campion 1567-1620

It fell on a sommer's day,
While sweete Bessie sleeping laie
In her bowre, on her bed,
Light with curtaines shadowed,
Iamy came: shee him spies,
Opning halfe her heauie eyes.

Iamy stole in through the dore,
She lay slumbring as before;
Softly to her he drew neere,
She heard him, yet would not heare,
Bessie vow’d not to speake,
He resolu’d that dumpe to breake.

First a soft kisse he doth take,
She lay still, and would not wake;
Then his hands learn’d to woo,
She dreamp’t not what he would doo,
But still slept, while smild
To see loue by sleepe beguild.

Iamy then began to play,
Bessie as one buried lay,
Gladly still through this sleight
Deceiu’d in her owne deceit,
And since this traunce begoon,
She sleepes eu’rie afternoone.

Shakespoeare: The Rape of Lucrece
Philip Larkin: Deceptions (it gave the title to The Less Deceived)

Thanx, all of your msg's and ideas really helped me a lot.

You know, it's hard to write a poem about something that hurts, somebody that's hurt you. You end up using self-consciously poetic language, and everything is suffused with rage. Hard to write, hard to read. Cathartic, but ultimately a poem which fails to convey.

Then, you write an explanation of the poem, to a friend, to a counsellor, to a parent, even sometimes to the rapist. And then, the poem emerges. In that explanation. Look at Kimberlee's poem, in Les's post. It's almost impossible to read. Then look at her explanation. The poetry is there, isn't it?

'I try not to remember, I try to forget,
but all too often memories hit my soul
and force tears down my cheeks.

I figured it's about time
that I deal with it. It's about time
I come bare-faced to the world
and say,
look at me.
Look what happened.
Just look.'

Stephen

Yeats' : Leda and the swan?

Good point, Stephen. Sometimes hurt so infuses us with emotion that we cannot convey in words the pain we feel.

Les

Yeats' : Leda and the swan?

Excellent point! Except it's not rape when a god does it, of course. More like the feudal 'jus primae noctis', where the lord of the manor had the right of sleeping with his peasants' brides.

I've always felt that Rod Stewart's 'Tonight's the Night' was actually describing date rape.

pam



Stay away from my window
Stay away from my back door too
Disconnect the telephone line
Relax baby and draw that blind

Kick off your shoes and sit right down
Loosen off that pretty French gown
Let me pour you a good long drink
Ooh baby don't you hesitate cause

Tonights the night
It's gonna be alright
Cause I love you girl
Ain't nobody gonna stop us now

C'mon angel my hearts on fire
Don't deny your man's desire
You'd be a fool to stop this tide
Spread your wings and let me come inside

Tonights the night
It's gonna be alright
Cause I love you girl
Ain't nobody gonna stop us now

Don't say a word my virgin child
Just let your inhibitions run wild
The secret is about to unfold
Upstairs before the night's too old

Tonights the night
It's gonna be alright
Cause I love you woman
Ain't nobody gonna stop us now

for those who have experienced sexual abuse:
poem # 4 of Anita Barrows' A RECORD.

for those whose partner has experienced sexual abuse:
poem #5 of the same book.

(can't post b/c they are copyrighted material. this book is winner of the 1998 Riverstone Poetry Chapbook Award. Riverstone, A Press for Poetry, West Chester, PA)

~
shower scene


torrid redemption
calls to me-
to wash the truths away.
falling softly,
upon unsafe flesh.
silencing his voice-
with madness swallowed
down the drain...


wicked
~


Eventually, the words DO come...


wicked



Post Edited (01-11-04 13:15)

All things Wicked, start from an innocence. ~ Ernest Hemingway ~

Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

Rape isn't always about just the victim. Other family members are involved too.

Lost Innocence Stolen Virtue

My flower was uprooted, and I watch her fade.
Her vibrant colors bleed into the soil.
What fruit is left will turn sour as she dies within her husk.
Talking to my flower returns no life to her withered bloom.
I know if she would answer I could convince her to survive,
But she won’t even recognize her demise.
I cry for her innocence lost.

After planting her seed and provided for her needs,
I watched as my flower grew.
But the violence she endured was too much for her to bear.
I offer her my strength, and I keep quite because I must.
Though pressed and dried, in spite of everything I’ve tried,
I know she will soon crumble to dust.
I cry for her innocence lost.

It’s too late in the season to replant my garden,
But maybe I could gently replant her roots.
With nurturing and care she might become aware,
That she’s still special, she is one of a kind.
Like a memory in a photograph she remains in view.
My flower lives but she is still elusive to my touch.
I cry for her innocence lost.
.
By rcpollitz


© 2003 rcpollitz (All rights reserved)

That is a powerful poem. Thank you for posting it here.


Do you happen to know if there are "famous" or well known poets who have experienced Rape?

"Do you happen to know if there are "famous" or well known poets who have experienced Rape?"

Yes - Maya Angelou. She describes it in her autobiography, I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS. I don't know whether she wrote any poems that are explicitly about the rape.

"McNeal, who is a survivor of rape while in college, ...is a published poet and award-winning playwright ..."

[www.clarke.edu] />
==========

At this site a woman has posted some poems about her experience of being raped. I don't know if she's "famous" but I feel certain I've seen her name before:

[www.ilovepoetry.com] />
===========

Possibly of interest to you?

filmmaker Aishah Shahidah Simmons, ... in 1994, Simmons began filming the documentary No!, focusing on rape and sexual abuse within the black community. No! tackles sexual assault from a perspective both political and personal, featuring interviews with rape survivors, activists and community workers. Playing with camera angles, shadows and light,

Simmons splices these narratives with evocative music,
dance and spoken word acts, creating a vivid
exposÈ of this hidden epidemic.

A survivor of rape and incest, Simmons acknowledges that her own experiences motivated her to make the film.

[www.streetharassmentproject.org]

Hi Daniella,

I have written over one hundred poems that have to do with rape. I want to publish but don't know how to go about doing it. but I can share one or two with you

Thessia

Thessia,

Where to start? You can start with poetry organizations (e.g., magazines and publishers) or you can start with rape-related organizations (survivor groups, prevention programs, etc.).

I recommend the second, because (1) it's just astoundingly hard to get poetry published at all, and (2) you will be warmly received in the second group whether they want your poems or not. In fact, there's a better chance that rape-related organizations will put your poems in their publications (or on their web pages) than that a poetry publisher will ever even get around to reading your stuff.

Another path is through publications that have to do with YOU in other respects. If you're an Ohio native, then magazines of Ohio writing may be interested in your poems. If you're a graduate of Nifty College, the alumni magazine might publish them.

And/or, start your own web page.

To share your poems at eMule, go to "user submitted poetry."

Hey Marian,
whats going on? well so are you still living with anything in your life that you cant even sleep at night or anything? w/b its important thatyou do!!! love malia

Hey Marian,
whats going on? well so are you still living with anything in your life that you cant even sleep at night or anything? w/b its important thatyou do!!! love malia

i do not know anything about rape but i am doing a report on it and if you find information and poems about it please send to my email above thank you
alicia,
thank you so much if you send me some thank you again!Daniella wrote:

Hey,

I was wondering......Do you happen to know any poems that deal
with Rape?
be it written on the actual experience or about living with the
memory of it?

Thanx anyway,

Daniella.

"Lines on a young lady raped by you, dear husband".
____________________________________


She will remember you
Each night she kneels upon the floor,
Each night she whispers goodnight
To the shuddering curtain.


She will remember the pain,
The horror, the shame;
And she shall never forgive you.


Give her a gun
And she shall shoot you.


And dear husband,
I shall stand by and applaud her.


That is what you have done:
Oh yes, it was nothing,
Nothing to you, but fun.
You just pulled up your pants
And blinked
In the late sunshine.


You can not love her, you say.
But she will always hate you
For what you have done to her.


She will always hate you;
And before you go from this poem,
A grin on your fat face:


Let me say too, I shall always hate you.

---
Tiffy Witherington

Hi, Daniella!

I just came across this site and have been enjoying perusing the poetry and forums.

Somehow I felt compelled to share a poem I wrote about my own experience with rape. You can find it here:

:: Sloppy Sickness :: (caution -- mature language & content)
[www.poetrybang.com] />
There are also a handful of others in the Dark Poetry forum at PoetryBang (http://www.poetrybang.com). Please feel free to explore.

If you've had a rape experience, my heart goes out to you! I hope you will seek to surface, express, and resolve the turmoil of emotions that inevitably result from having been victimized in such a way. If you ever need an understanding listener, please feel free to get in touch with me!

{{ hugz! }}

~ GuckenFroovin (aka Pam)

Muckenforon.

send me some poems about rape please

I never thought this would happen to me
cuz him and me were only 13
we would lay together everyday
'til he held me tight and wouldn't go away
i thought it was a joke until i see him lying on top of me
i try to scream but no one could hear me crying with fear
i look around and there i see a pack of weed open to see
so there i lay scared and curaid
'til this day on i still hear my screams

She stands infront of the mirror
and looks into the glass
the make-up that she wears
hides the secrets of her past
the way she's been abused
the way she always hides
should she end it now?
or keep it all inside?
she getting pictures in her mind
the worst is saved till last
she looks down at her fisted hand
and thrusts it through the glass

she stares down at where the glass lays
and wishes to be back in those wonderous days
how did it end up like this? she wonders why
she is the one that wants to die
how does she get out? what can she do?
she wants to tell somebody, but who?

she dreams of a future of happiness and love
but thinks she needs a miracle from above
why isn't she worthy of the life in her dreams?
"i'm going to give up!" she screams.


This is a poem i wrote. I was raped by my step-father at the age of 11 over a period of 18months. I had no idea what to do. i faught with my mother because i blamed her for not walking in when he was doing it.
i blamed myself for not stopping him. i blamed every one but him. but one day it just became to much to handle. i was at school and bursted into tears, i needed to tell someone. i eventually spoke to the police and DOCs
and they told my mum. my mum didnt believe me, and even now blames me for everything that happened. my step father is now in jail and will serve a 3year sentance. i have a 2 year old brother and everyday i feel guilty that he wont no his father.

Lexi,

I think you were right to do what you did- it took a lot of courage.

Good luck,

pam

hey umm im not sure if this is the sorta poem u wanted but i guess u could say its tru coz its what happened to me well here it is anyway...... i think about it all the time what u did to me wasnt all that kind,did i deserve what u did, did u happen to stop and notice i was only a kid,why did u touch me and try to make me see that its was me u wanted to play, why did u touch me that day? i was much younger than you i didnt know what to do, it still hurts deep inside how could u have looked at me and just sat back and lied, how could a child look good to you, that isnt what guys are supposed to do, what u told me was i supposed to believe its true, i hate it when ppl touch me or talk about it and its all because of you,i tried to 4give u for what u did to me but u caused a pain that will last for enternity............. thats all and im still not sure if thats the sorta ting u were looking for but yeah..can i just ask why u wanted poems and stuff about rape?are you ok about that sorta thing? by the way my name is kara

Daniella wrote:

Hey,

I was wondering......Do you happen to know any poems that deal
with Rape?
be it written on the actual experience.

Hey,

I was abroad for a few weeks and didn't see all your msgs but now I'm back and I really want to thank you for helping and posting even personal poems.

I'm really interested in the subject of Poems about Rape.
It seems to me that most of Rape Poems are fairly recent or mostly unknown unless you focus on that sort of poetry...And given the fact that poetry, in most cases, is very personal, and Rape, unfortunately, very common, it's wierd you don't come across poems dealing with Rape more often.

So please, share even more.

Thanx,

Daniella.

Hey Kara,

I can't imagine the horrible experience you must have
went through but I do want to thank you for posting this poem.

You asked why I was looking for poems regarding Rape,
I answered that, as best I could, 3 msgs above yours.

Thanx again,

Daniella.

try this one!!!!

[here4victims.tripod.com]- wrote:

I have written about Rape. Rape, has been one of the most difficult and tragic experiences of my life, and I, myself, was not raped. A dear friend, and lover of mine, was raped, multiple times. I attempted to lift her from her darkness, and I attempted to lift her rapist from darkness too. It beat and tortured my soul daily, and I was forced to look inward. I have been on a personal journey, attempting to find answers, as to why, why would anyone do such a thing. I attempted to, love Evil, so as to heal it, and I was left empty, with no Soul, and no guiding force in my life. I was utterly alone. I have risen since, and my love for women, has profoundly increased, and I have decided to dedicate my life, to, women, to love, to healing racism, and to helping others.

Peace.

I thought this was really good. I was raped when i was 13 on jan. 21, 2004 and it took me a while to tell anybody cause i was so scared. But were survivors now and i really look up to you cause your not scared to write about it. You can def. change the way a girl looks at things thats happened to her. THANK YOU
I am no longer a victim , im a survivor

I was raped by a guy that i dated last year. Its strange to see how many people were raped. I felt so alone, and now I understand how many people it actually happens to. Im actually really sick of people telling me they are sorry it happened and everything like it was somehow their fault. This isnt actually a poem, its more like a short story or something. So, here it goes.

"No, Stop! QUIT! I screamed as he pulled yet another piece of my clothing off of my body. At that point, fear was my only emotion. "Please DONT".... "NO"
His only break was to pull out his penis. My attempt at getting away failed due to a locked car door. I had never been inside such an old car before so everything but the back seat at that point was unfamiliar to me, so the time it took me to figure it out was too long.
"come on baby its ok, im not going to hurt you, you want this to you know you do" He tried to guilt me into it as he pulled at me and pulled me over on top of him.
I give in, all my fighting was making my body ache worse than anyone could imagine. I was causing myself more pain fighting than he was actually trying to grasp me. He rips my legs open hard thinking i was still trying to fight him as he jumps up and thrusts his dick in me, In that moment stealing my innocence and virginity. I let out a long scream of pain as he quickly and repeatedly pumps me on the steering wheel with his pelvis. The more i still tried to fight only made the pain worse. Finally 15 minutes later he makes a satisfied groan and a pressure builds up inside me. Trembling and crying i sit back so he can take his dick out of me, No condom, instead I see tons of Jizz on his dick. He had let it go inside me.
3 Weeks later, i visit the doctor, by myself and am notified that I concieved. An abortion was necesarry......... The End

Thats all i wrote. I did have the abortion. I know biblicaly its wrong, but Im 16 now, i was 15 when it happened and having to tell my parents i was raped and now i was pregnant and having to live with seeing the kid at all just turned my stomach worse than morning sickness. The pain still exists though. I actually talk to him some... He sent me a message on the computer and i told him everything, that he had gotten me pregnant and what i had done about it. Im not healing very much and that could be why, but Im still living... so far anyways.

Flo, the author doesn't list their name, but they've posted this poem at other sites on the web as well. As you can see that the CA at the end of the web address in the following post indicates that they ARE Canadian:

[www.emule.com] />
Les