Käthe Kollwitz, Frontal Self-Portrait, 1922–23.
Am I supposed to be loved?
When the bombs that are dropped are men
I have to ask that question again.
Shadowed crimes in wartime makes everyone ask questions
Some that the men who rape and take, and take… and take never seem to answer.
When our bodies become the trail that is trekked,
The battlefields that are fought on
The pair seem to go hand in hand, rape and war intersect.
The unexpected results of this that seem to linger forever
This is not an isolated incident
And we will never forget, however,
Everyone else seems to.
So again, am I supposed to be loved?
When something more was lost in the process,
Something more than your nationalism,
More than your patriotism
But unfortunately, the avoidance was a success.
When bodies become battlefields,
Everyone is too ashamed to address it.
As if they were the ones who had to live through the constant rapes,
They tend to suppress it.
But the question is easily answered by the ones who have what it takes,
I am supposed to be loved, and so is every other victim of wartime rape.
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This poem is dedicated to the women who were raped during wartime and peacetime. It is meant to reflect some of the feelings (as much as I could understand from what I read) that these women experienced. It is also meant to shed light on the crimes that were pushed to the back and show these women that they are loved and supported.
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Käthe Kollwitz. 1922-23. Frontal Self- Portrait. Berlin: Germany.
