When he touched her,
She never wanted it, but that was never his concern.
When he raped her,
He said he was strong and he could do anything he wanted.
He tried to take away her dreams.
He thought he had the power to destroy her world.
He said, “If you don’t marry me, no one else will take you.”
She was not ashamed.
She cleaned up her tears and stood tall.
She achieved her goals,
Crossing them off, one by one.
When he saw her again, he asked:
“You have a bad reputation now, right?
Nobody married you, right?
I warned you.”
She said with a smile:
“I heard you got married.
Does your wife know who you really are?
I don’t have a bad name. I am a teacher.
I am teaching your son to respect women.
Because I don’t want anyone to be like you.”
He looked at the woman’s bold face.
He could never believe
That one day she would become the heroine of her own life.
Written by: Zahra Wakilzada
Read this poem in Persian here.