A rewrite of the famous poem 'If' by Rudyard Kipling to explain the difference between a
man and a paedophile written by Alex.
I cannot do that. I don't know what it is like to be a paedophile, but I do know what it is
like to have survived the attentions of a paedophile.
So here it is
IF
If your head just won’t be kept
When all about you seem cool and calm
If you cannot trust yourself, even when others say that you should
And you so wish that you could
If you don’t have the energy to sit and wait,
Yet cannot muster the energy to cry
If you don’t recognise the face that others see
And see a like as reason to hate even more
If you fear to look good, least it attracts the bad
Or fear how words you spoke may be heard
If you fear to dream, for the nightmares it might let in
If you see the world through a window marked yester years
That can not be shuttered
If you cannot see your triumphs for the forest of disasters
And treat them all as yours for the blame
If you fear to share the truth
For fear that it may be twisted by friends turned knaves
And made an invitation for a repeat of horrors past
Or watch knaves like him who took your life
Paraded as heroes
Taking for granted all that you never had
If you cannot see your winnings no matter how many
And fear what the next corner may bring
Knowing each day must begin with a plan of how to avoid and protect
Be safe
Be safe
Be safe
Remembering never to hint or breathe a word
If you have to force your heart, and nerve and sinew
To make the move that starts each day
And have learnt to keep on going when the pain will not be gone
Yet still you hold on to a hope
Even though all hope seems to be lost
Hoping that one day you might be free
Because you know that the biggest evil
Is the enemy created by others within
One day you might find a different type of person,
And grant yourself the courage to let them love you and you them
There might be a place where no one can hurt you
Where you can stand alongside a man without fear or trepidation
You might just live a minute without a thought of evils past
Then you will be able to hold your head high
Look the world in the eye and say
You were a boy, who caught a paedophiles eye
And now I am a man, proud to be I.
With apologies to Rudyard Kipling