Check out this beautifully-written poem!
built like a brick house
i walk around with my head skewed on the passing classrooms
trying to make it around without bumping into people
meanwhile, i feel eyes on me
i notice the whispers as you all walk by
the sustained stares when i pass you
i hear you chuckle with your friends
i know what you say.
i drop something while walking to class
all of a sudden i have an audience behind me
a wall of adolescent boys trying to admire something they can’t have
i don’t know their names
they don’t speak to me
or say hello
or acknowledge anything else besides
the flare pants i have on
i know what they say.
i stand up to present my project in front of the class
as i walk by my peers,
i notice every guy’s head turn when i walk past them
desperately trying to get a peek at something
i start to become more aware of the way my hips
sway
with every step i take
i stand next to my slideshow
talking about the Flavian Woman
while the girls nod in agreement and understanding
paying attention to
my facts
the boys nod and sway
tilting their heads and neglecting the
words
coming out of my mouth
but instead paying attention to
my figure
as their gaze goes further down my body
i know what they’re thinking.
i sit and talk to him about my day
tell him about all the good things that happened to me
we laugh and we smile but
his friends come over to say hello
they don’t speak to me
they whisper something in his ear
and i watch him smile and shoo them away
but then i notice suddenly he’s not looking at me
but at my white v-cut shirt
i know what they said.
she sits and talks to me about her day
telling me about all the good things that happened to her
we laugh and we smile and
my friends come over to say hello
they don’t speak to her
they whisper something in my ear
i try not to let my disgust show and shoo them away
but then i notice suddenly i’m not looking at her
but at her white v-cut shirt
i stop listening to what she’s telling me,
admiring who she is,
and focus on
how she looks in her outfit
how the outline of her bra pushes through her shirt
how my eyes are now set on a different pair
the bouncing motion of her left leg catches my attention
i look up at her face
now red with embarrassment
her eyes brimmed with tears
and she gets up to leave
i realize that i let them shift the way i look at her
i hate what they say about her.