Life on the run

“Gasping for air
legs winding
faster than the breeze
I ran through the woods
beating the crisp leaves and debris
with my soles shedding skin
with every thrashing pace

Faster

Faster than the sound
thousand drumsticks
“double time beat”
drumming in my chest
perfectly put charcoal hair bun
unfurls
like the sails on sea

I ran
faster

Faster than I could catch my breath
razor-sharp dry twig
sharper than double edge sword
cut through my calf muscle
streaming vermilion river
piercing pain
I don’t have time
I had to run

Faster

Crashed before a deserted church
in this lifeless woods
grimed in darkness
groaning
lungs puffing for air
white chiffon dress
soaked with blood and sweat

A beautiful prey
for those hungry
filthy men
thirsty for lust
how can I escape this life


Eyes flooding
like a rain filled cloud
glossed ebony eyes
bitter salty tears
just waiting for my consent
but my lashes won’t allow
so I close my eye lids;
hugging tighter
cascade of tears
I wrap my arms around me
It’s mist cold here

A drop
crystal clear
high from up above
perched on my cheek

I look up in the sky
so hazy and murky
just like my life
joining in my sorrow;
drizzling relief rainfall
dampen white clothes
revealing my sinful body
mixing dirt and mud
on my wheat legs
I like my skin better now

Washing blood and sweat off
who can notice my tears now

Showering rain
on these forests
sounds like a chant
I start to lose my consciousness
slowly losing my self
blurry vision
its getting pale and dark

Worn out weary body
rest on this muddy soil
My four feet thick hair
envelopes me
like a jacket
miss my mom’s warmness

Do you feel my pain
do you care?
come find me now”

I came across this descriptive and thought-provoking poem as a result of a google search on sexual harassment poems and literature. This poem is currently posted first in the Modern Award Winning Sexual Harassment Poetry website. This particular form of media further contributed to my body of knowledge regarding my chosen topic, sexual harassment. This poem allows the reader to see things from a victim of sexual harassment’s point of view. In my opinion, the line, “A beautiful prey for those hungry, filthy men, thirsty for lust, how can I escape this life” (Life on the run) really pulls the poem together in an insightful way. It makes the descriptive trauma from the female victim’s point of view expressed earlier in the poem make sense. She compares her experience of being the victim of social harassment to gasping for air, to running through the woods beating the crisp leaves and debris, with her soles shedding skin with every thrashing pace. She next compares her experience of being the victim of sexual harassment to sprinting through the woods as fast as she can, with razor-sharp dry twigs, which are even sharper than a double edge sword cutting through her calf muscle, resulting in a piercing pain. She additionally compares her experience of being the victim of sexual harassment to crashing down before a deserted church in the lifeless woods she has been desperately running through, grimed in darkness, groaning while her lungs are puffing for air. She states that her white chiffon dress is soaked entirely with blood and sweat as a result of her injuries. When she is frigid and crying, she gazes up at the hazy and murky sky. She then compares the appearance of the hazy and murky sky to her emotions and to her life. She explains that as a result of the torment of sexual harassment, her body feels sinful when exposed, so she feels more comfortable when her skin is not visible and is instead covered by dirt and mud. She further expresses that she feels she is losing herself, that she feels no one understands her pain or even cares, and that she feels extremely worn/beat down. All of these feelings the anonymous author of this poem expresses are common feelings experienced by victims of sexual harassment. According to extensive research, the common feelings associated with being the victim of sexual harassment are depression, hopelessness, despair, frequent crying spells, the feeling of losing who you are, insecurity, and sometimes even thoughts of suicide.

“Poems / Sexual Harassment Poems – The Best Poetry on the Web.” Sexual Harassment Poems – Modern Award-Winning Sexual Harassment Poetry : All Poetry, allpoetry.com/poems/about/Sexual-harassment.