You Weren’t Any Different by Linda Crate

I don’t remember your name,

but i will never forget

what you did;

how you preyed on my vulnerability—

all i wanted was a walk,

on a dark and gloomy saturday night,

but you said, 

maybe we could talk in your room;

i believed you 

but you didn’t want to talk—

i remember straining my neck 

away from you 

to prevent you from

kissing me,

trying to pretend i was interested

in the loud garbage you had spewing on 

that television;

i remember how you forced me to touch

your dick, 

and how angry you were when i recoiled

as if you were the one that

had the right to feel rage—

you only calmed down when i told you about

how my ex tried to rape me,

acting as if you were any different;

when you forced my hand down your pants.

Linda M. Crate’s works have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies both online and in print. She is the author of six poetry chapbooks, the latest of which is: More Than Bone Music (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, March 2019). She’s also the author of the novel Phoenix Tears (Czykmate Books, June 2018). Recently she has published two full-length poetry collections Vampire Daughter (Dark Gatekeeper Gaming, February 2020) and The Sweetest Blood (Cyberwit, February 2020).