Emma Alexander

Free Verse Poetry

I was so small, with such finite sight

Unaware of my vulnerability and my budding heart
So content in my fragility.
At the unripe age of 12, time unveiled a hellish reality
Where what was once for nourishment and play
Had become an invitation for perversion.
As my hips grew wide, my fears ran deeper
Of the grabbing and groping and poking and
prodding.
The sexualization of a child is not funny
But it was easier to laugh along.
And I did, as my radiant spirit grew dull
And encased itself in glass.