AbsinthWonderland

A Story Like Mine Poem by Halsey at the NYC Women’s March #tw rape/sexual violence When she said the words, “What do you mean this happened to me?!”, there were no dry eyes anywhere.

It’s 2009 and I’m 14 and I’m crying Not really sure where I am But I’m holding the hand of my best friend, Sam In the waiting room of a planned parenthood The air is sterile and clean And the walls are that…not grey, but green And the lights are so bright they could burn a hole through the seam of my jeans And my phone is buzzing in my pocket My mom is asking me if I remembered my keys ‘Cause she’s closing the door and she needs to lock it But I can’t tell my mom where I’ve gone I can’t tell anyone at all You see, my best friend Sam was raped by a man That we knew because he worked in the after-school program And he held her down, with her textbooks beside her And he covered her mouth and then he came inside her So, now I’m with Sam At the place with the plan Waiting for a medical exam And she’s PRAYING she doesn’t need an abortion She couldn’t afford it And her parents would like…totally kill her

It’s 2002 And my family just moved And the only people I know are my mom’s friend, Sue and her son He’s got a case of Matchbox cars and he says that he’ll teach me to play the guitar…if I just keep quiet And the stairwell beside apartment 1245 will haunt me in my sleep for as long as I am alive And I’m too young to know why it aches in my thighs, but I must lie, I must lie

It’s 2012 and I’m dating a guy And I sleep in his bed And I just learned how to drive He’s older than me And he drinks whiskey neat And he’s paying for everything This adult thing…it’s not cheap We’ve been fighting a lot Almost 10 times a week And he wants to have sex And I just want to sleep But he says I can’t so no to him This much I owe to him He buys my dinners So I have to blow him He’s taken to forcing me down on my knees And I’m confused because he’s hurting me while he says “please” And he’s only a man and these things he just needs He’s my boyfriend so why am I filled with unease?

It’s 2017 and I live like a queen And I’ve followed damn near every one of my dreams I’m invincible and I’m so fucking naive I believe I’m protected 'cause I live on a screen Nobody would dare act that way around me I’ve earned my protection, eternally clean Until a man that I trust gets his hands in my pants But I don’t want none of that, I just wanted to dance And I wake up the next morning like I’m in a trance And there’s blood Is that my blood? Hold on a minute

You see I’ve worked every day since I was 18 I’ve toured everywhere from Japan to Mar-a-Lago I even went on stage that night in Chicago when I was having a miscarriage I mean, I pied the piper, I put on a diaper And sang out my spleen to a room full of teens What do you mean this happened to me? You can’t put your hands on me You don’t know what my body has been through I’m supposed to be safe now I earned it

It’s 2018 and I’ve realized nobody is safe long as she is alive And every friend that I know has a story like mine And the world tells me we should take it as a compliment But then heroes like Ashley and Simone and Gabby, McKayla and Gaga, Rosario, Aly Remind me this is the beginning, it is not the finale And that’s why we’re here And that’s why we rally It’s Olympians and a medical resident and not one fucking word from the man who is President It’s about closed doors and secrets and legs and stilettos From the Hollywood hills to the projects in ghettos When babies are ripped from the arms of teen mothers and child brides cry globally under the covers Who don’t have a voice on the magazine covers They tell us take cover