Poetry by Tommy

Here I am

Here I am, going about my day, minding my own business, grocery shopping.
I gather my items and head to my car.
And there they are, they have the audacity to look me up and down, as if I'm not a human, as if my only purpose is for them to look it, for them to cat call, for them to sexualize.
And I know what you might be thinking, but were you dressed in tight clothes? Were you walking with a swing in your hips?
Maybe the way you carry yourself draws attention?
They probably just thought you were pretty, calm down.
Well, if that was true, I wouldn't have any reason to worry.
No woman would have reason to worry,
Not a worry of wearing what we want to, not a worry to walk by ourselves in broad daylight, not a worry that the person looking us up and down could potentially harm us.
And believe me, it'll happen no matter what we wear, how we walk, or where we go.
So save your words that it's our fault or that we asked for it.
But what's truly scary is I find young boys doing the same thing,
Maybe instead of teaching girls to sit with our legs crossed when we wear skirts, we should be teaching boys to just not look in the first place, stop telling girls "he's only mean because he likes you" cause maybe he's just an asshole.
And instead teach boys to be more gentle and show actual love instead of telling them to just cut it out, explain why he shouldn't do it.
Then maybe, just maybe, we won't have to walk with our heads turned down, a knife in our pocket, or pepper spray in shaking fingers.
But then again, lets face it, nothing is gonna change till people start seeing a problem with what they do..