Fight Or Flight

is a phrase that needs no explanation in any society
where bullying and being bullied are recognised
as unattractive behaviour that ought to be stopped,
when stopping it is harder than it seems.
The gain the bully gets through his hold
over the situation is hard to dismamtle.

Less recognised where agression is normalised
is one consequence of being bullied: being frozen,
from the bullying that goes on, unrecognised,
unti it all ends where the thought is....
'This behaviour does not have any consequences'.

Frozen agreements look like normal agreements,
informed by consent, but agreements that come
from a lack of presonal space,or choice, are in fact
frozen lives acted out when whoever cares for the result
cares enough that appearances hide what they are not presented as. 

Rape

is the pride in the prick,
the thorn in the flesh,
that stays under the skin,
decades after it's sufferers
initially endured it.
The worst part comes after,
with how hard it is for 'the victim'
to own their part in how it happened.
The event freezes it's sufferers
until long enough after the event,
that as it is remembered it feels
like it happened to somebody else.