The Rape
Sunshine plays on the car-tops
Firing off beams of blinding light
Skies are cerulean and clear
Patrons chat in the parking lot
Birds fly overhead as leaves begin to soften
And fall floats in like a whisper
Into the cradle community
Safe, protected, similar
We are so alike
Carbon copies of one another
We joke that we live in a bubble
A bubble of sameness
Same clothes, same sports, same S.U.V.
Same college, same religion, same socio-economics
A place where truly everyone knows your name
And deals are made on a wink and a handshake
But one day the gate to Eden is left unattended
A stranger enters our community
Parks in our lot with the sun-kissed roofs
Watches the birds in the sky overhead and
Waits,
Waits for long stretches of time
Crouched in the back of a copy cat car
Evil brewed over years of dysfunction,
Bubbling beneath the surface of his actions
One spark, one careless encounter will set him off
And send him spiraling down into an abyss of sadistic addiction
Uncontrollable in his rage, he will reach out to
Stifle the silent screams that roar through his brain
What is he thinking as he lies there in wait
His muscles cramped, his body taut
Does he perspire?
Does his heart palpitate?
The car door opens, the knife reaches out
To cut a slash in the fabric of our community.
Safe no more; same no more
The bubble has been reduced to bits of saltwater tears
Raining down upon our heads
Evil has entered our gates or has it been lurking here all along
Below the surface of the same citizens.
Michelle Beckham-Corbin
10/4/02
Rev. 11/3/02
In response to the abduction and rape of a 44 yr. old woman from Beechmont Mall at 9:00 p.m. on a Monday.
Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009
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