It's Just a Joke

whiterosemary

It’s Just a Joke

 

‘It’s just a joke’,

but is it still just a joke when you shout it across the street?

‘It’s just a joke’,

meanwhile we are cautious of every guy we meet.

 

‘I didn’t mean it’,

but do you mean it when you treat us like some sort of bet?

‘I didn’t mean it’,

but did you mean it when you used violence as a threat?

 

It’s just a joke, until it turns into more.

Is it just a joke… or is it what you secretly long for?

 

You joke about our ‘place’,

must be easy when you’re at the top and we are at the base.

You joke about rape,

while we are silenced as if with tape.

 

Your jokes construct a cage that locks us away,

isolates us from you so you don’t hear what we have to say.

We are not your equals we are targets,

we stand frozen and your jokes are bullets.

 

To us it’s not a joke.

 

It’s not a joke,

when we say we live in constant fear.

it’s not a joke,

when we say ‘no’ and you act like you don’t hear.

 

And maybe it is just a joke,

and you really didn’t mean it.

But for us it’s a shot in the dark,

for which category you fit:

 

enemy or friend?

Will this ever end?

 

Your jokes form our reality,

and that’s something you will never see.

  • Author: whiterosemary (Offline Offline)
  • Published: March 9th, 2023 14:00
  • Comment from author about the poem: This is the first poem I've written and I know it is simplistic and amateur but I believe the message is still there and it means a lot to me. Please do tell me how I can make it better :)
  • Category: Sociopolitical
  • Views: 21
  • User favorite of this poem: L. B. Mek.
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Comments2

  • Doggerel Dave

    No, don't let anyone tell you how to write, not even me. However Ihope you might find parts of this helpful:

    https://mypoeticside.com/show-poem-155194

    Your message is definitely there. Enjoy your time at MPS.

  • L. B. Mek

    '‘I didn’t mean it’,

    but did you mean it when you used violence as a threat?'
    (dear Poet, how acutely
    society's unspoken, you lay bare
    violence in but a flick, of a blink
    clown smiles, warped insidious
    by devious plots and schemes
    opportunism, rife in one track
    mind's
    friends, until they think they can't
    be caught...)
    I pray a day comes, when
    we don't have to live doors open
    so lady's may feel safer
    because of a past we can't change
    until then, we can but empathise
    support, empower and appreciate
    your Bravery and Fight!
    A great write!
    Sad, that's its so easily relatable
    even to ignorant guys, like myself
    Stay strong! sister



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