By Any Other Name

I want it to hurt,” he said,
(meaning,it hurt).

Though she did not get pregnant,
(meaning, perhaps, that the pain was ‘legitimate,’)

even though he had no gun,
(if a hard sell for‘forcible.’)

Still, her body, it seemed, shut down,
(meaning, hurt)

for some period afterwards
(years),

as he forced himself, these times, into her head,
(which is to say, as he hurt her),

just as he had wanted,
(no matter what words you use),

and she had not.

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The above is a draft poem written in response to the remarks of Todd Akin, six=term Missouri Representative and current Senatorial candidate,  about the lack of need for a rape exception for abortion bans due to his “understanding” that many women’s bodies “shut down” during “legitimate” rape and thereby avoid pregnancy.  Many Republicans have distanced themselves from…