Say Her Name

Slut.

They spit it like a brand, not a name,

Like her body’s the torch and she’s to blame.

As if she asked to be torn apart

By hands that crushed a child’s heart.

Tramp.

They laugh at the way she walks at night,

But not at the man who stole her light.

The closet door, the shattered trust.

All covered now in layers of dust.

Whore.

She trades her skin like it’s all she owns,

But no one sees her breaking bones.

She learned too young that “no” means less

When love is warped into a dress.

She paints her lips, she plays her part,

But there's a grave inside her heart.

And every kiss, and every bed,

Is just another scream she never said.

Behind the heels and smoky eyes,

Is a child who watched her spirit die.

You curse her name, but never knew

The war she fought just passing through.

You called her easy, loose, and cheap,

While she curled into herself to sleep.

Her prayers were raw, her hope was thin

You judged the shell, not what's within.

Say her name with something true,

Not the filth you say when you’re through.

Not the whisper made in heat and flame

Say the one she screamed…

and no one came.