WHAT WE LEARN

when you walk alone at night
carry your keys in your fist
points sticking out
past the knuckles
just in case

on the train
stare at the floor
read the ads overhead
don’t look into the face of a man
it would be an invitation

when men on scaffolds
whistle and yell
don’t look up

this woman I know
talked to a boy at a bus stop
he dragged her to an alley
pulled a knife
and raped her

this is manhattan, said the cop 
what did you expect?

act like the world is invisible
and no one will hurt you

krista absalon passed out drunk
unconscious on the floor
in casablanca bar in gouverneur
hey, said the five men
who raped her that night
it was an invitation
and the judge agreed

when you have to act all the time
like the world is invisible
you become so small
you become nothing

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Published in the minnesota review