by Hannah Brown
Ring, Ring,
I hear the phone ring.
“He’s following us,” she says.
I couldn’t feel a thing.
Driving alone, late at night, down an empty road,
I couldn’t see a thing.
Was I too nice to the man, the one a pace behind?
Should I have offered him that meal, the same one who pined?
“I'm homeless,” he said.
But somehow, after an innocent snack run,
He's following us, he's following us.
Why won’t he slow down?
He was a con! What have I done?
Why was I so naive?
I should have said no, but would that have been too rude?
I put my friends in danger; God, why was I so crude?
Circling around, losing grip,
Fear continues to drip down, drip.
Half an hour gone by—
We lost him, finally.
My friends turn; they go home.
I continue on, alone,
Horrified.
What have I just justified?
Ring, Ring,
I hear my head ring.
“He’s behind you,” my intuition sings
I see him there, just a short pace near,
And now—I'm alone, consumed by fear.
But he had turned, I saw him flee,
We were safe – weren’t we?
All alone, so far from home,
Why was I so naive?
Forty-five, fifty, sixty – the speed sways.
Why was I so naive?
Twisting and turning at every corner,
I lost him I thought, now I am a mourner.
Why, oh why, was I so naive?
The cops said he had done this before,
Terrorizing girls for what?
A thrill?
Why was he still free?
Frightening naive little girls, with no repercussions in sight.
At 9 o’clock, I arrived,
Established, gratified, relieved.
But late that night – 11 PM –
I was left feeling foolish, mortified, naive.
“It’s not your fault,” they said,
And they may be right.
But why isn’t our community safer for us girls?
Why should we blame our empathy in situations that turn wrong?
As a community, it’s our job to keep our women safe.
It’s a necessity to protect our youth from the grave dangers in our world.
Why are we so naive?
To let these Amnons roam our state,
To let these dangers threaten our women, our children?
Many more stories like mine,
Many more stories stack high.
Don’t we deserve a promise of security,
A promise of the most basic human right?
A right that we, as individuals, give up in the face of fear and distress.
Women now are terrified to go out alone
As these stories – stories like mine –
Grow exponentially day by day.
Was I in the wrong? Maybe.
Was I deserving of the unshakable fears I shall carry in the margins of my mind?
Most definitely not!
And neither should any other woman.
1 in 6.
The statistic of American women victims of sexual assault.
Every day, a woman in our nation latches her purse – hands peeled on her mace –
Because she knows she’s no match for a man who will stop at nothing to get what he
wants.
You never know. Better to be safe than sorry, right?
1 in 5.
The statistic of college women victimized by sexual assault.
Women have battled accusations for decades, breaking societal constraints and fighting
for their
rights.
Law after law broken,
Battle after battle fought.
Until finally, women’s education was attained!
But what do we women get in return for trying to survive in a man's world?
For seeking the education we have fought so long for?
42.3 percent.
The statistic of women in South Carolina alone, victims of assault.
These are the statistics of the reality we face today.
63 percent of assault cases go unreported,
Leaving the authenticity of our statistics in question.
And yet still, the known statistic stands far too large.
3.6 million cases of child abuse
Reported each year.
Over a decade? You do the math – unbelievable, right? 36 million reports.
Where will the line be drawn?
How many more statistics must be piled up for sufficient action to be taken seriously?
Why are we so naive?
Why are we allowing our state, our nation, to succumb to defensive tactics
When we should be on the offensive, breaking through every possible opportunity?
25,955
The number of violent crimes reported, lives deprived.
Assault, rape, and murder –
We’re ranked 46th for public safety
In the top ten for brutal murders against women
The top 50 percent for women sexually assaulted
Why are we so naive, when justice is halted?
To let these horrors grow and thrive?
While our women barely survive?
One life,
That is all we have
One life to change the past
A precious gift we must protect,
In every corner, every path,
Our voices will rise, demanding respect.
So, my question is:
While it’s good to be safer than sorry,
Why should the women of our state be placed in a position to choose?
How much longer should we expect our society to hold onto our shaken-up stress?
Because soon enough, no matter how hard we try to suppress it,
Every soda ruptures and leaves a disastrous mess behind.
Why, oh why, are we so naive?
(1) Amnon: A biblical figure who raped his half-sister.
About Hannah Brown
Hannah Brown is a junior at Spring Hill High School in Chapin, where Dr. Stefanie Fowler is her English teacher. The daughter of Sue and Jason Brown, Hannah plans to study business and civil/residential structural engineering in college and then manage her family business, Brown Enterprises.