A young girl stands alone in the hallway
Surrounded by waves of empty thoughts
And bitter 'imaginative' worries

She couldn't go home
She couldn't switch classes
She couldn't understand why

A friend turned enemy
She cried out for safety

A day turned night
She was struggling to escape

A world turned from childhood to hell

No one believed her
Calling it some nonsense of a teenagers mind

And even when there was proof
She was still nothing but a joke

Everyone lashed out on her

Don't dress like that
Don't be a tease
Boys will be boys

Don't dress like that?
In a simple shirt and jeans?

Don't be a tease?
In what way is "good morning" a tease?

Boys will be boys

How often now, is that an excuse
For non consensual sex and touching?

Boys, who cannot control themselves
Boys, who move on impulse
Boys, who cannot take the blame for their own actions

Want to be called men?

Always chastising their victim
Ruining lives for the sake of their pleasure
Ruining people for some silly sort of game

What kind of man would do that?

The girl stares at her classroom door
Wanting to run
To hide
To jump into her father's arms and be protected
Just like she used to as a child
When her enemy was imaginary

But now things are all too real

Her father would be able to soothe her
And to scare her monsters away again
Isn't that a man's job
When his child is in need?

She was enveloped with fear
Whispers of her floated from the classroom to her
Giggles and rumours
Scoffs and gossip

Now that the boy had gotten away with it
She was an outcast

She was labeled and ridiculed
Bullied and lonely

How could so many people know
But no one was helping her?

A boy, forever so
Never able to understand consequences
Never to be a man
Because he wasn't taught nor disciplined

So we stand here with her
And think to ourselves

What is the difference between boys and men?

The difference is simple
Men take pride in how they treat others
While boys take what they want when they please

The difference is respect.