
I watched the whole lot of them,
the fence line sagging in protest.
Each smoking and joking,
eying up the classics on display.
I found the sight troublesome
knowing how boys will be boys,
and as the cigarettes wore down,
I could see their restless forms
swaggering my way.
Shivers ran down my spine
as the jostling jokers spotted my gaze,
and I tried to shrink into the backdrop,
but the prowling had already begun.
Darts of catcalling
were hurled my way,
each unsettling word,
a dagger to the innocence of my soul.
This act of playfulness reminded me
of how a lion toys with its prey,
and I knew once the hunt began,
anything left of my dignity
would not be spared.
I tried to act inconspicuously,
walking backward
one trembling step at a time.
But then the books I held
began to slide right out of my arms,
and the movement
caused a chain reaction.
Like red-flagged raging bulls,
the whole bunch
began to barrel my way.
Caught in a panic,
I tripped and fell,
but the embedded asphalt
was the least of my worries.
I tried to stand
but realized it was too late,
the pride was already circling,
waiting to pounce.
In the end, my tormentors
were too tough to deter
and all I could do was fight
with bated breath
until my virtue
no longer remained.
© 2021 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/smoking-young-people-youth-be-cool-737057/
Writing prompt: Juicy jokes and buttered books
Very well written, Michelle. Bit by bit, step by step. Drawing in. Dragging down.
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Thank you, George ❤️
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Powerful piece, Michelle.
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Thank you ❤️
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Powerfully written Michelle
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Thank you, Kate ❤️
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Michelle, this is quite powerful, captivating and enraging. I am hoping it is a story for you, but it is a well told one that happens too often. If it is more than that, I am terribly sorry you faced such an ordeal. Keith
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Thanks Keith, luckily for me most of what I write is often fictional. I’m using the prompts that I’ve written for this month as inspiration, so you will likely see more of these types of fictional pieces. I think most writers use a bit of truth in everything they write, and that’s certainly true with me. It’s always good to write what you know, but then give it a twist of fiction and that’s what I did here.
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Michelle, thanks for your creativity and story. It is sad that women and girls have to be subject to varying degrees of maltreatment. Keith
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It really is… ❤️
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Really good
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Thank you ❤️
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