So, do readers of poetry need to be reminded over and over and over that sexual abuse is wide-spread? I get it! I'll do what I can to help abused women heal; I certainly don't want to silence them if they want to write a poem about the experience. But how do I know such a piece will be more than boringly journalistic (as so many of them are) unless I read the damn thing?
The kind of poetry we need more of - hard and uncoated truth. I read somewhere that the best kind of poetry is one that makes you wish you had written it. So many images in this poem are totally relatable and make me wonder why did this poem tale so long.
Wow. Julie. The power of this poem is evident in those two blunt words. I kept saying yes to them, yes you’re right, and it is so fucking wrong. Thank you for this, my CWC friend.
So, hope I can say this without being piled on as a woman-hating rapist. Only a moron wouldn't believe the astonishing number of women who have suffered sexual abuse. The poet did not say all men, but since so many poems I read these days are about women being abused, Sal's comment above starts to sound like gospel: "ALMOST ALL WOMEN" HAVE BEEN ABUSED. This absurd statement is reinforced by the tsunami of sexual trauma poems currently flooding journals and online poetry sites.
Bonus question: Woe-is-me victim poems are boring to ME, and yes (extra-credit answer) I'm being a pussy, letting myself be bothered by that boredom.
I imagine that if a “tsunami of sexual trauma poetry is currently flooding journals and online poetry sites”, this is a stark reminder of the severe psychological impact of the many abuses that are perpetrated on individuals and an indicator of widespread trauma within society.
Would you let anyone silence you after an assault?
Stop reading poetry that bores you. No one forces you to read work you do not want to read.
Julie, Congratulations on this transition. I sense the growth and new power in your writing. And as I'm sure you're aware, J.S. Edwards sounds profound. ! Miss you around what now, which ends this week. Maybe stop by for the finale.
What an honest and unflinching poem. Needs to be read until the world gets it. Unfortunately, the kinds of people who need to read it won't, or they'll read it and not care. That said, if it reaches even one of those readers then it's done what it's supposed to do.
SO PROUD OF YOU for working tirelessly on this poem and making it the absolute eviscerating and necessary howler that it is. So grateful to get to work with you in CWC. xx
So, do readers of poetry need to be reminded over and over and over that sexual abuse is wide-spread? I get it! I'll do what I can to help abused women heal; I certainly don't want to silence them if they want to write a poem about the experience. But how do I know such a piece will be more than boringly journalistic (as so many of them are) unless I read the damn thing?
The kind of poetry we need more of - hard and uncoated truth. I read somewhere that the best kind of poetry is one that makes you wish you had written it. So many images in this poem are totally relatable and make me wonder why did this poem tale so long.
Wow. Julie. The power of this poem is evident in those two blunt words. I kept saying yes to them, yes you’re right, and it is so fucking wrong. Thank you for this, my CWC friend.
This poem feels like someone finally speaking aloud the danger that shaped her girlhood long before she had words for it.
It carries the weight of memories that were never processed, only endured, turning vigilance into a survival instinct.
The repetition of “young pussy” lands like a pulse of truth not for shock, but because naming the wound is part of healing it.
The poem shows how girls learn to protect themselves before they ever learn what safety is supposed to feel like.
Its honesty about shame and arousal reveals the cruel confusion trauma can imprint on a young body.
There is a heartbreaking shift when the speaker becomes a mother, seeing her daughter step into the same fragile terrain.
The anger in the poem is not abstract; it is protective, born from witnessing harm repeated across generations.
It captures the exhaustion of someone who has seen too much and can no longer pretend the world is gentler than it is.
The voice feels raw, trembling, but fiercely alive refusing to let silence shield those who caused the damage.
In the end, the poem becomes a testimony of survival and a plea for a world where girls grow up unafraid.
I read the title and was apprehensive, but it's so well written - it is just heavy-handed enough. This is an important poem, especially now.
Thank you Betsy! The title scared me too
Congratulations, J!
Thank you XP!
"Young Pussy"? Too broad a brush tarring all men? Another tiresome victim poem.
You seem defensive. I guess it's true what they say: “To a narcissist, the whole world's a mirror.”
Jeannie, you peeked!
Not for long, I assure you: just to see if you were a basement-dwelling edgelord or an everyday curmudgeon. And I found out!
J, sooooo, which is it? I'm holding my breath! XO
The problem isn’t so much “all men” as almost all women.
Let me ask: Did she say "all men"?
And let me answer: No, she did not.
Bonus question: To exactly whom is a "victim poem" (sic) "tiresome"?
Extra-credit question: Just who is the pussy here?
So, hope I can say this without being piled on as a woman-hating rapist. Only a moron wouldn't believe the astonishing number of women who have suffered sexual abuse. The poet did not say all men, but since so many poems I read these days are about women being abused, Sal's comment above starts to sound like gospel: "ALMOST ALL WOMEN" HAVE BEEN ABUSED. This absurd statement is reinforced by the tsunami of sexual trauma poems currently flooding journals and online poetry sites.
Bonus question: Woe-is-me victim poems are boring to ME, and yes (extra-credit answer) I'm being a pussy, letting myself be bothered by that boredom.
I imagine that if a “tsunami of sexual trauma poetry is currently flooding journals and online poetry sites”, this is a stark reminder of the severe psychological impact of the many abuses that are perpetrated on individuals and an indicator of widespread trauma within society.
Would you let anyone silence you after an assault?
Stop reading poetry that bores you. No one forces you to read work you do not want to read.
I have come to view sexual assault as a form of terrorism.
No, terrorism is driven by a political agenda. Sexual assault is driven by the abuser's mental illness.
That is correct. Thank you.
This is one of those "necessary" poems. Thanks for writing it. Captures the whole issue.
Julie, Congratulations on this transition. I sense the growth and new power in your writing. And as I'm sure you're aware, J.S. Edwards sounds profound. ! Miss you around what now, which ends this week. Maybe stop by for the finale.
Thank you Tod! Miss you too and so sad that what now is ending. I’ll stop by this week for sure
Hey partner,
So pleased to see this out in the world!
I am always in awe of the raw courage that bursts out of your poetry, Julie. So glad you are letting the world see it.
What an honest and unflinching poem. Needs to be read until the world gets it. Unfortunately, the kinds of people who need to read it won't, or they'll read it and not care. That said, if it reaches even one of those readers then it's done what it's supposed to do.
IT won't change any one's behavior, just encourage man-haters to hate more indiscriminately.
So man-haters are currently somewhat discriminating in their man-hatred? How does that work? Please, tell us more. 🥱
SO PROUD OF YOU for working tirelessly on this poem and making it the absolute eviscerating and necessary howler that it is. So grateful to get to work with you in CWC. xx
so honest and bold--thank you
Powerful...and how I wish the lout referred to at the end could be brought before a tribunal consisting of women only!
Unfortunately, as we've seen, even "women only" has not been enough to roll this guy.