“but he apologized.”

“he served his time.”

“we should move on from this.”

“he said sorry…”
but apologies don’t fix broken women.

apologies don’t make it easier to breathe.

apologies don’t make walking down the street alone easier.

they don’t take away the nightmares,

they don’t make the flashbacks stop.

stop… but he didn’t.

he didn’t stop.

because her body is not her own.

he touched her & didn’t stop.

he violated her.

he scarred her for life.
“but he apologized.”

apologies don’t make you feel normal again.

apologies don’t make you feel whole.

apologies don’t take away that burning question etched into you

by society “what did i do wrong? could i have prevented this?”

“maybe it’s my fault…”

apologies don’t take away the shame.

they don’t wipe away the guilt.

they don’t make it easier to sleep at night.
“he said sorry, why are we still crucifying him for his past?”

he said sorry.

he gets to move on like nothing ever happened.

while i’m burdened with this for the rest of my life.

it makes me feel less than,

that someone had the audacity to do this to me.

“move on,” they say, brushing her pain aside.

& they still have the nerve to tell us to report our abusers & rapists.

when they’re the ones that make life as a victim so fucking hard.

they still have the nerve to participate in anti-rape campaigns,

when they’re the ones that uphold & protect rape culture.
but he apologized. get over it.

he gets to move on, start afresh.

while this pain eats away at me

like a virus eating through flesh.