Truth or Dare

Truth or dare?
Dare
I never pick dare
I am too cool for dare
I don’t pick dare because
the first time I picked dare “I dare you!” is what he said to me
He being a 45 year old man behind a screen
He being surrounded by his friends who claimed to be my friends
He being a robber of my safety
“I dare you!” is what he said to me when I was 9 years old
“I dare you!” is what he said to me as he threatened my family’s life
“I dare you to take off your clothes.”
I am too weak for dare
I am afraid of dare because
You are a wuss if you don’t do the dare
You are no fun if you don’t do the dare
You are boring if you don’t do the dare
And worst of all
You are just a girl if you don’t do the dare.
I do not speak.
The air around me becomes thick like sweet cake frosting but couldn’t possibly be more sour
The lights in my room appear to be covered by shadows
Technology is no longer an advancement of my society but a murderer of my childhood
Truth
The truth is I am not a victim
The truth is
The only reason it happened to me is because it was
My fault
For being on the internet that late
The truth is
This all could’ve been avoided if I decided to go to bed on time
The truth is
When people told me to “Speak my truth!” all I did was “Speak my lie!”
The truth is
I did not believe I had the right to tell my story because it was not “daring” enough
Nothing “bad enough” happened to me
Speaking truth into the world is for true victims
Speaking truth into the world is for traumatized people
Speaking truth into the world is for attention seekers
I will not speak my truth
I said
Today I speak my truth because
He got away with it
Today I speak my truth because
There are millions of little girls this happens to every year
There are millions of little girls who are afraid to speak their truth
If I had spoken my truth
He would be in jail
Punished
Getting what he deserves
If I had spoken my truth
I would know who “He” is
But instead, I go around every day not even knowing what color his hair is
Instead, I go around every day knowing that I could have stopped him
Instead, I go around knowing I probably wasn’t the last
Truth or dare
For the rest of my life
I will pick truth because I know that I can stop a cycle
I will pick truth because I know that my voice is powerful
I will pick truth because I know I can make one difference in my lifetime
And I promise to myself it will be a difference big enough for the little girls in my neighborhood
For the little girls that dare to be afraid of their own voice.
I dare you to speak your truth.