Behind the Mask

 

Image by Felix Lichtenfeld from Pixabay

you masked your malice

behind a disguise of decency.

what woman would worry

about one so ordinary?

the words "I love you" 

never leaped from your lips.

you presumed the passive-aggressive pap

you connoted as clever

would entice me to you endlessly.

when I expounded "enough!"

ending our exchange,

you agreed to acquaintanceship

of companionable cooperation;

but concealed beneath the costume

of a platonic pact

you yearned for me to be yours,

conniving to continue

a bond that was broken.

when I displayed drunken affection

for a charming co-worker at a Samhain soiree,

you caused a commotion.

I drove home drunk

with you scowling at my side

to prevent pugilism.

arriving at my apartment

you proceeded to present

a picture of your previous paramour.

"she cheated on me," you claimed.

I said I was sorry,

but because we'd broken up

the clinch between my co-worker and me

was inconsistent with infidelity.

with a muddled mind and heavy head

I blundered to my bunk

thinking you would take off.

I didn't go so far as to remove garb or grease paint;

I'd deal with the damage at daylight.

while I settled down to sleep,

you decided to disrobe me.

I was startled from smashed slumber

by a bulky body compressing my chest.

I screamed for you to stop,

though my cries were choked off

by liquor and lack of air.

after accomplishing your attack

of rancorous repayment

for an inane indiscretion

executed by a fragmented fool

of confused character,

you proudly proclaimed

"now we're back together."

then you ambled away,

leaving me shattered

smashed,

splintered,

a shell of myself.

the words "I love you" 

never leaped from your lips.

the proclamation "I possess you,"

was apparent in your actions.

you lived your life 

donning the disguise

of an ordinary man.

meanwhile, my every memory

is assailed by the awareness

that the most maudlin of men

are capable of rape.

without a single second thought

for the ways their wanton wrongdoing

will scar their scapegoat.

Image by Pavlo from Pixabay

I'm not the only one.

One in five women will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime.

Prompt used:

https://experiencewriting.com/2023/10/10/oct-10-prompts-behind-the-masks/

Bring to mind someone you are afraid of and think of something that person would never say.

I can't say I'm afraid of my assailant. I don't think he's going to come find me for an attempt at a repeat performance. I did start the poem with words he never said or would say because I don't think he's capable of the emotion in question.

My attacker isn't present in my conscious mind most of the time. But to say his actions had no effect on me would be a lie. My life was forever changed by what he did to me. 

Poetry form:

Tongue Twister

http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/twister.html