Speech

"...where is speech for the block of ice we pack 
in the sawdust of our hearts?" ~ Ellen Bass

For many years, I did not know the words
for some things that were done 
to me as a child
that should never be done to any child.

Where I'm from, it's considered unseemly
for a girl or a woman to come 
forward with accusations about how
her body was violated.

And when she does, she is more than likely
met with disbelief, especially if it
involves a member of the family.
She is asked why on earth 
she needs to make up such things;
or what she hopes to gain.

Years later, a friend who has been through
a similar experience asks: are you now
able to talk about it to anyone?