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Odds
Contributed by
KismetsPoet
on
Tuesday, 25th March 2014 @ 10:44:33 PM in AEST
Topic:
Lifepoems
|
I have never been to the beach
never waded into the ocean and watched the sun set over glistening waves
but I know that the odds of a shark attack is 1 in 11.5 million
and that 129 million people a year go to South California beaches alone
I have never wandered through a forest
I have never hiked down a worn path picking wildflowers I couldn’t name if you paid me
but I know the odds of a bear attack is 1 in 1.9 million
and that approximately 56 million people visit Yellow Stone National Park each year
I have never been to Africa
I have never walked down a dirt road in blinding heat and a mud cloth dress to a marketplace of beads and headscarves
but I know 550-700 people are attacked by lions each year
and that 1.033 billion people live in Africa as of 2011
I have gone to a bar
I have dressed up in heels and a miniskirt and smiled at strangers for no other reason than to smile
and I know the odds of being raped is 1 in 4
and that three girls sat around me as an old man stood close and told me my dress was beautiful
I have walked down a street and saw three other women on the sidewalk when a car honked at my hunched form clutching groceries
There were two female cashiers and a female manager when a customer told me he was looking for a girlfriend without once dragging his eyes up to meet mine
I have been told that I look like I am asking for it
that my body issues an invitation my mouth will never say
that my clothing has given me a label and that label is “tease”
I have been told that I flaunt myself in front of men like a piece of meat in front of a dog
but I guess dogs can be trained better because the odds of one biting me is 1 in 131,890
I have never been attacked by a dog but I have had a stranger grab my ass in a crowded mall and look shocked when I beat him
I have had my sister ask me what I was wearing, joking that I had an ass so someone was bound to grab it
I have made it 21 years without someone trying to force themself inside of me to nestle under my skin in a way I cannot cut out
21 years of deadbolts and pocketknives and “never go out at night”
So I will go to the beach
and let salt water sting sunburned calves
I will wander the forest
coated in insect repellant and clutching a pamphlet of poisonous plants
I will go to Africa
and pack myself into a crowded safari van with a dozen other tourists with cameras
I will buy myself a dog
and love it until my luck runs out
until the numbers have hunted me down and I become the 1 in 4 that shielded the other women around me
The odds of successfully committing suicide is 1 in 25
I like those odds
Copyright ©
KismetsPoet
... [
2014-03-25 22:44:33]
(Date/Time posted on
site)
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Re: Odds
(User Rating: 1 )
by Former_Member on
Wednesday, 26th March 2014 @ 03:10:46 PM AEST
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a Message)
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I love the way this is written...that way you compare all the odds.
Those statistics on rape are horrid but I believe it. Sad that sickness can be considered a culture. Culture is society and society breeds ***** up people. Sad yet true.
Great poem!
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Re: Odds
(User Rating: 1 )
by EveAlone on
Saturday, 5th April 2014 @ 10:03:48 PM AEST
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Wow.
This is beautifully written and paints a picture of a culture of of people that need help. I am on the side of pocket knives and looking over my shoulder. I am on the side of never been to a forest or a beach. Yet, I do not fear the shark attack or bear attack. I fear the man behind the trees. Or the guy watching me in my swimsuit. I know none of are asking for it. Men should be able to control themselves. Yet, it seems the culture is to blame the women somehow. Does anyone blame the person swimming in the ocean for getting attacked?
Sorry for my rant, I LIKE YOUR POEM, The facts give it something fresh, Well written. |
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