ninety seven percent

It’s ten past ten at night
a lone candle burns
the next hour
for a woman who
walked home alone
at night.
I’ll turn off all the lights
at thirty past the hour
and pause

for all the women.

In a week of extremes
celebrating women
judging with no means
a shockwave through society.
It made us pause
and realise
how all of us
have witnessed it.
We have been
that woman
walking down the street
quickening her step
looking past her shoulder
clutching our keys.

They gave us rules,
don’t dress to revealing
don’t walk home alone
don’t respond
oh please just
don’t react at all.
We’d shrug it off
the cat calls
the feeling deep inside
the anger
the fear
and all other things
that might
provoke society
to blame it all on us.

Because the story
never says
“Man harassed a woman”,
“Man raped friend after walking her home”
it always goes the same
“Woman harassed”,
“Woman raped by friend”
leaving men out of the picture.
And now they act
all shocked about the fact
that every single one
of us
has a story
or changes her behaviour
to not be the next
woman to burn a candle for