I Saw You
Light skin good looking man standing tall
Bastard
Without a care or thought in the world you stood there smokin your life away
I sat in my car and wondered
Was this really you?
Ppl been sayin you cut your hair
Ppl been tellin me they see you all the time
I've never cared
I've wondered what it would be like to be in yur presence again
Would I be ok?
Would I cry?
Would I be nervous?
What is there to say to the man who betrayed me?
That morning still fresh in my mind
Jus like it was yesterday
But I now question myself
Did it even happen?
Y didn't I tell anyone?
The shame of it all was too much to bare
There's somethin to say about someone who's been raped 4 times
The world doesn't view situations like mine in a kind way
Who would really believe me?
I regret doing nothin about it
Here yu stand free, smokin, chillin
Walking amongst the very likes of me
All because I did nothin about it
N now everytime I see yu I feel trapped inside a world of disgrace, shame, guilt and 21 questions
I honked my horn to see if it was really yu or if I was drivin myself crazy for no reason
Yep
Tabernack
Je suis fâché contre vous
Mais j'ai fait la décision de rester silencieux
I'll n'y a rien je peux faire maintenant
So I left
Went home
And cried myself to sleep
Damn thought I was over this
Reflection & Context
This piece was born out of the shock of unexpectedly seeing someone who once violated my trust and my body, living freely, untouched by consequence, while I carried the weight of what happened in silence. It captures the collision between memory and present reality — how trauma does not always announce itself, but can surface in a moment, a face, a familiar movement, a breath.
It speaks to the quiet torment of not telling, of wondering if the truth would ever be believed, of questioning one’s own memory because the world kept moving as if nothing had happened. The poem holds the ache of unresolved pain, the confusion of seeing someone walk unbothered while your nervous system remembers everything. It is the voice of a woman who chose silence for survival, and later had to grieve what that silence cost her.
Reflection Prompt
What memories still rise unexpectedly, asking to be acknowledged rather than buried?
What would it mean to offer yourself compassion for the choices you made to survive, even when those choices still carry pain?
Original Performance
This piece was originally performed as part of the Lips & Poetry series, where spoken word meets lived experience. Watch the original recording below to hear the rhythm, breath, and emotion that first carried these words.