The Big Kid

He grabbed me from behind, by the scruff of my neck, tearing the collar of my fake fur coat. Dude wanted money of which I had none, and to rub breasts I did not yet possess. Inhabiting my scrawny nine-year old form were remnants of chicken wings, hominy grits, and hope. Too young to trade with money, my currency that day, three #2 pencils and a prized gilded protractor.

Placed in District 4's newly created gifted program, I now walked to school alone. Running late this particular morning, I inhaled the crisp November air and decided to take a short cut thru the basketball courts on Park Avenue. Maybe he knew me or had watched my pigtails move, as is the case with his kind for he swooped down and bound me in an instant. I knew nothing of sex or the evils of men; but his breath told the story of ages.

My screams immediate loud pleading...skyscrapers standing in silent vigil as he tossed aside my belongings. Cars whizzed by, smug drivers ignoring my shame. The steel cold sharp against skin, but it would not surrender. Punching blindly I fought for my very soul and for the souls of girls who could not. Clutching boots and coat I ran barefoot and screaming into the oncoming traffic. No one stopped and no one cared.

A little girl's innocence forever on the auction block - where are the tears and loathing?