Everyone thinks it is
me who's to blame for what
happened that night, but all
I wanted was a kiss.

Innocent fantasies infiltrated
my mind that night--

Holding hands on the beach, or
soft loving kisses on each finger
before a kiss goodnight and a
'see you tomorrow'.

I thought you loved me, thought it
was what parents call 'puppy love'--

How wrong was I, Alaric?
Was I wrong enough to deserve
what you did to me, to deserve
the stares and the blame?

Was I wrong enough about you,
Alaric, to deserve all the pain you caused?

Nobody has asked me for my
side of the story, because it is a
woman's place to be silent and
have children for their husbands,

But I am tainted now, so I am worth
even less now than I ever was before.

My side doesn't matter in this patriarchal
world of ours, Alaric, so it doesn't matter
to anybody but me that I said no that night
and you still forced your way inside.