i was too young to hurt but i did

the fingers and other parts that went inside of me caused me hurt

i didn't understand why going to the bathroom hurt me sometimes

or why i would bleed from down there

the man who should have protected me was the man who caused it to hurt in the first place

his hands that gripped my thighs when he should have been gripping my hand as we crossed the street

it hurt more and more until it finally stopped

but every day i still feel the hurt from when i was young