Steubenville

OK

It’s not ok

it’s so not ok

it wasn’t ok to do

and it wasn’t ok to take pictures of

and talk about

and text about

and brag about

and joke about

It’s not ok

that you thought it was ok

That you thought it was just

     a thing that people do

That it kind of is a thing that people do

That you thought it was funny

That you thought it would go away

That you thought you would get away with it

That you didn’t really think at all.

It’s not ok this happened.

It’s not ok, ok?

It’s not ok

You’ll be ok

You won’t be ok

It won’t be ok

     for a while

Wheels turn and things are set in motion

And then it’s too late

and it’s not ok.

It’s not ok that –

     OK – THAT –

what happened

didn’t just happen to happen.

It happens not to be ok

that it ever happens.

And it happens ever.

Because if it didn’t happen

if this thing that shouldn’t happen

     didn’t happen

you wouldn’t have taken pictures

and shared them

and told jokes

and expected to be excepted

from accepting the attention

to your unacceptable attentions.

It’s not ok that you expected

her to accept it

took exception to the suggestion

that it might not go away.

It’s not ok.

We shudder as the shutters shut

and tellers tell of promise cut

     off

But I can think of something else to cut off.

And others say it’ll be ok

you’ll be ok.

And you will,

You’ll be ok, you’ll even play

but the playing field won’t be level.

Not for a while.

Not by a long shot

or a wide shot

or a tight shot

a close-up

that you share

     Why would you share that

     Other than that that’s done?

            that’s

            what’s

            done.

And what’s ok about that?

And at the end of the carnival

we look back at the video

and the cotton candy may make us sick

some of the rides turned faster than we thought

didn’t turn out how we thought

turned into something

     not a carnival at all

     something not ok

And I’m sorry you’ve been inconvenienced

by the fact that the wax figurines

     you thought you won

     turned out to be flesh and blood.

On the other hand

You should have known

     You did know

     You knew

It wasn’t ok

It isn’t ok

You’ll be ok

She’ll be ok

Actually

She won’t be ok

She’ll be better.