Post by Nature's Fury on Jun 17, 2004 19:33:20 GMT -5
The bus pulls to a stop, doors open with a swoosh
I take the stairs that are a hair too tall
past the bright yellow Safe Place sign in the window
the bus is full, almost, only one seat is left
between two men who could be my cousins
I sit down, it’s a longish ride and I don’t want to stand
the dress shoes I have to wear are uncomfortable
I smooth my skirt and stare out the window, not
paying much attention to anything until
“Hey, sweet cheeks.”
My glance flickers to the man across the isle
He’s talking to me, I think. Looking at my skirt
I ignore him.
“Hey, b.itch, my friend’s talking to you.”
The guy on my left in the Korn t-shirt is glaring
The guy on my right laughs
“She’s just shy, isn’t she?”
I’m scared, suddenly. It’s strange, to be scared
rational thoughts don’t make much sense
a silver voice is silenced
The one on my right grabs my leg
I move to stand up, I tell him let go
The guy on my left grabs my hip
the one across the isle, and the one next to him
start to laugh
they move their legs so there is nowhere to go
Fear is so strange. it makes things slower
makes it hard to decide what to do
uncertainty becomes the base
I try to step over one set of legs
my skirt won’t let me step that high
trapped by my own clothes
they continue to laugh
“Siddown, sweetie.”
Guy-on-the-right pinches me, hard
it hurts
I adjust my backpack slightly
it falls on his arm
he grabs harder for a second
pulls on my skirt
it slips slightly
enough to illicit a whistle from guy-on-the-left
I find my voice again
I call to the driver, ask him
to tell them to lay off
he barely looks back, and shrugs
an older guy nearer the front of the bus mutters something
it sounds like “stupid dy.ke”
Anger is better than fear
it burns away the mists of indecision
lets you move when you were still
I blush, angry and confused and upset
on a bus full of people, no one says a word
the guy across the isle
who started it all
has his legs between me and the back of the bus
I get a knee against the back of his
I push, his legs bend
I’m able to slip past
guy-on-the-right hits the back of my leg
as I get loose from the cage
of bigger bodies and uncomfortable silences
to stand in the very back of the bus
near a girl with a textbook
who looks sympathetic
and a guy with a walkman
who looks right through me
the bus reaches the school
I exit last
and decend the stairs
past the bright yellow diamond
sign that says “Safe Place”
yeah. Right.
I take the stairs that are a hair too tall
past the bright yellow Safe Place sign in the window
the bus is full, almost, only one seat is left
between two men who could be my cousins
I sit down, it’s a longish ride and I don’t want to stand
the dress shoes I have to wear are uncomfortable
I smooth my skirt and stare out the window, not
paying much attention to anything until
“Hey, sweet cheeks.”
My glance flickers to the man across the isle
He’s talking to me, I think. Looking at my skirt
I ignore him.
“Hey, b.itch, my friend’s talking to you.”
The guy on my left in the Korn t-shirt is glaring
The guy on my right laughs
“She’s just shy, isn’t she?”
I’m scared, suddenly. It’s strange, to be scared
rational thoughts don’t make much sense
a silver voice is silenced
The one on my right grabs my leg
I move to stand up, I tell him let go
The guy on my left grabs my hip
the one across the isle, and the one next to him
start to laugh
they move their legs so there is nowhere to go
Fear is so strange. it makes things slower
makes it hard to decide what to do
uncertainty becomes the base
I try to step over one set of legs
my skirt won’t let me step that high
trapped by my own clothes
they continue to laugh
“Siddown, sweetie.”
Guy-on-the-right pinches me, hard
it hurts
I adjust my backpack slightly
it falls on his arm
he grabs harder for a second
pulls on my skirt
it slips slightly
enough to illicit a whistle from guy-on-the-left
I find my voice again
I call to the driver, ask him
to tell them to lay off
he barely looks back, and shrugs
an older guy nearer the front of the bus mutters something
it sounds like “stupid dy.ke”
Anger is better than fear
it burns away the mists of indecision
lets you move when you were still
I blush, angry and confused and upset
on a bus full of people, no one says a word
the guy across the isle
who started it all
has his legs between me and the back of the bus
I get a knee against the back of his
I push, his legs bend
I’m able to slip past
guy-on-the-right hits the back of my leg
as I get loose from the cage
of bigger bodies and uncomfortable silences
to stand in the very back of the bus
near a girl with a textbook
who looks sympathetic
and a guy with a walkman
who looks right through me
the bus reaches the school
I exit last
and decend the stairs
past the bright yellow diamond
sign that says “Safe Place”
yeah. Right.