Zainab Ansari

Who defines tempting?
The rapist? Illiterate politician? Naïve scholar?
My clothes scare you,
You implore me to cover up.
I’m bounded by convention,
Scared that you’d taunt me.
I put on layers of fabric,
To not entice you.
You try harder,
To look through the blanket.
You use your imagination,
To comment on me anyway.
I’ve succumbed to your pressure,
I’ve lowered my gaze,
I whisper and hush,
I simply walk away.
You then turn to little kids,
Full of laughter and cheer.
You manipulate them,
By promising a treat.
You take them to scary places,
To brutally rape them.
You take away their life
Even before they’ve started to bloom.
Bruises on their bodies when recovered,
Destroy my faith in humanity.
I start to fear,
And tell all the kids how chocolate is deadly.
You protest, lecture, and take a bullet,
But I know all this is temporary.
As the smoke clears,
And you sit to assess the situation,
You will continue to blame me.
Concluding, I was indirectly the cause,
I shouldn’t have appeared on TV, movies or posters,
Dressed in a way you do not approve of.
I know now for sure,
You’ll do anything imaginable
To not admit your animalistic thoughts.