“Oh Sexual Exploitation,

I cannot escape you,

For you set me up for every one of your forms

from such a young age;

The age of innocence

You stole from me.

Oh Sexual Exploitation,

I cannot escape you,

For you groomed me;

And as an adult,

You became my lover;

My friend.

You tricked me,

Into believing it was my choice,

And that it was you

I wanted for my life.

Oh Sexual Exploitation,

I cannot escape you,

For the scars I hold,

Invisible to most,

Tell how your love for me was hell.

They tell of the battle you waged,

Upon my mind

And how the razor….

….touched my wrists.

Oh Sexual Exploitation,

I cannot escape you.

For you invade my memories,

…Relentlessly.

You try to hold me

And break my mind,

(Now that I’ve been set free),

As if the damage you have done,

was not enough.

Oh Sexual Exploitation,

I cannot escape you,

For I still see you.

I see your reflection in the children’s eyes

As you wait for a doorway in.

I see you in the body language

of a father and daughter

Passing by.

I see you in the parking lot

At work,

On the street,

and in the school or church nearby.

I see you in the pain

Of the women whose hands I take

As they search for the way out

From under your dark shadow.

Oh Sexual Exploitation,

I cannot escape you,

For I do not forget…

….I will not forget…

What my God has done.

I cannot forget…

Where He has brought me from.

My Heavenly Father…

has called me

From victim to survivor,

From survivor to thriver,

And from thriver to fighter,

And now I’m coming for you.

Oh Sexual Exploitation,

I cannot escape you;

And you will not escape me.”

Marjorie F. Saylor

10/12/2017

Inspired by the events in my own life and the events I continue to see everyday as I fight exploitation and human sex trafficking.