What Do You Say Poem by Adorn Keketso

What do you say
to your sister
who just got raped
Do you hug her
pull a sad smile
and whisper deep
in her ravished soul
'everything will be fine'
how do you look her in the eyes
Do you order her to open her thighs
so you scrutinize the penetration
and tell her she's not dirty
Even though you know
society will perceive her otherwise!

What do you say
to your sister
who got raped
while on her way to fetch a bucket of water
for you to wake up 5am
and take a bath
to walk ten kilometres to school
As a teen
do you squeak a hue and cry
loudly curse
break glasses
or do you give her a glass of whisky to solace her soul

What do you say
to a sister who got raped
do you take a picture of her
to show her she's still beautiful
Look her cleavage and declare is still attractive
do you squeeze the tip of her fingers
to absorb her pains
cook her a warm meal
to show you understand
tell me what do you say
to revive back to life the butchered soul of your sister
Do you keep it a secret
pretend everything is Ok
and let her die slowly from the inside
while smiling from the outside
What do you say?