What if it was a male cadet
That slapped a female civilian
Until blooded clotted her nostrils
Only to be told she is a bastard?

What if it was a woman
Who was told that her blood meant nothing
As she was dragged her across the bare floor.
Because she refused the advances of a soldier?

What if it was a girl
That was stripped of her clothes
Made to lie on the bare floor
With her face to the sun?

Yesterday, you would have demanded equality
Today you would have blamed patriarchy
But up until this morning
I still don't hear your voice





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMNYRcpvb1Q

The last line of this poem made it for me. I feel the poem is simple and beautiful in its simplicity but there is little or no depth to it, not because of its simple wordings but because, it almost reads like a prose.
The constrast between violent military masculity and victimised femininity is however thoughful. Needs more depth, does the poem.