Seven Years

Seven Years

They never tell you
The news
The Internet
The public speakers

That creepy colleague, ex-lover, vicar
Superstars and swimmers
The family friend over for dinner

They never tell you
That they smile
That they're human 
Just like you
So you'd never expect them to do a thing like that

Greedy gaze lingers
Wandering wisp of a finger 
Whispering, wind in the whimpers

They never tell you
That 'no' means 'not yet'
And you will succumb to the pressure of pursuit 
Whether by physical force,
Mind-game manipulation
Or plain persistence

They never tell you
That a scattered smattering of teeth-chattering memories
Take a battering 
When under the gavel
And you can't help but see
A pattern
It's all very cloak-and-dagger

They never tell you 
That just like that
Just by speaking up
Speaking out
Out loud
You become a statistic
A number
Another
Curled up tight in a little box
Right next to a tick or a cross
But if you don't fit, you won't be heard
Lips clamped shut like your legs should have been

They never tell you 
That you see their eyes in passers-by
Hedged in by omnipresent spies
Wedged in secrets between your thighs
Allegedly
There you lie
High, dry and petrified

They never tell you
That when they strip you of your clothes
They strip you of your skin
And stitch themselves to your shadow
So even on sunnier days
They are with you.