It was all in the toes.
That was what I thought every time I thought
of the man tip-toeing.
Even back then, when I was a child of ten,
it was all in the toes.
And they found teeny footholds
to traverse the dimensions of
any crag, branch, trunk that I chose.
And years later, immersed in sport,
it was still all in the toes.
The games had ME tip-toeing,
trying my hardest not to be found,
fleet of foot, toes barely grazing ground.
Much, much later,
when the terrible man came tip-toeing
and frozen, I watched him murder
the girl in the tree, the quiet girl playing hide-and-seek
I felt my toes curl at
The thoughtless, repulsive, beastly act
And I felt it
All the way to my toes.
That was what I thought every time I thought
of the man tip-toeing.
Even back then, when I was a child of ten,
it was all in the toes.
And they found teeny footholds
to traverse the dimensions of
any crag, branch, trunk that I chose.
And years later, immersed in sport,
it was still all in the toes.
The games had ME tip-toeing,
trying my hardest not to be found,
fleet of foot, toes barely grazing ground.
Much, much later,
when the terrible man came tip-toeing
and frozen, I watched him murder
the girl in the tree, the quiet girl playing hide-and-seek
I felt my toes curl at
The thoughtless, repulsive, beastly act
And I felt it
All the way to my toes.
Raga Gundlapally
This represents how when you face sexual violence for the first time, you feel disgusted at the act all through your body, all the way to your toes. It feels like your innocent happiness and who you were is murdered by this thoughtless, senseless violence that shouldn't have happened.