Somedays I Can’t Humor the Headlines
By Laurie Baron
The Rapist: With Apologies to Edgar Allan Poe and Christine Blasey Ford
Once upon a high-school party, stalking girls who might be tarty,
They selected one who came upstairs and jumped her on the second floor.
He held her down, though quite drunken, on a mattress where she was sunken.
Both boys were scheming, music loud to muffle screaming, ‘til it made a roar.
“Cover her mouth,” they muttered, “And just in case, lock the door.”
Sporadically, she would remember, igniting a traumatic ember.
And each flashback returned to when she was a sophomore.
How she managed to escape and avoided being raped.
The boys’ laughter lingered, that’s what she most deplored.
Repress it she swore, be silent now for evermore!
Then she heard he might be nominated, something she abominated.
“Bear witness, bear witness!” To what had befallen her before.
And if the truth is spoken, perhaps conscience can be awoken.
His past can’t be ignored; it might keep him outside the courtroom door.
For justice sake and nevermore!
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Baron is professor emeritus of history at San Diego State University. He may be contacted via lawrence.baron@sdjewishworld.com. San Diego Jewish World points out to new readers that this column is satire, and nothing herein should be taken literally.