FOR CASSIE

FOR CASSIE

By Farah Lawal Harris, 2025

I, too, was a teenaged girl

who fell for an older dude

and realized years later

I was groomed.

I, too, married pain,

my scars on the inside

less severe than yours.

In learning what you endured,

I needed to lay down to pour

libations from my eyes

to undo the images I saw,

release tightness in my jaw.

Suffering begets suffering;

pain begets pain,

but like rain, tears renew the soul,

wash away the toxins of lies,

and inspire growth.

I never got a trial,

but somehow

seeing you sit in your story,

claim what you were denied

and testify

is a need fulfilled.