His story: “Just relieve myself, that's all,”
Dressed fine in business suit – yeah, coat and tie –
Went in the women's restroom by-the-by;
Onlookers watched askance but kept their peace,
It was the law that he could seek release
In any bathroom in which he felt peace
No matter if the moralists scream, “cease.”
She was a girl of twelve, sixth-grade at school,
Was feeling sort of icky by the pool,
Had gone there with her parents to have lunch...
Her father bragged that she could eat a bunch;
And then she went to pool to swim and play
While parents went to work...finish their day,
And while from nature's call she sought relief
He staked her moves, just like a would-be thief.
The paper next day published this headline:
Young girl assaulted, raped while others dine
It happened in a women's restroom stall
When it was thought no one else there at all,
Across her mouth a strip of friction-tape,
Her body found in bloody, grotesque shape,
The mayor paid respects to family...
Asked it to understand diversity.
And so it goes.
Jim Clark
