Innocence by Melanie Han

                       lillie kate CC



innocence 

and in this house 
i was sexually assaulted
for the first time 
but i didn’t know 
how to tell my parents
so the boy continued
to come over 
to play (with me)

and in this house
my mom got cancer 
then got depressed
then tried to kill herself 
but i didn’t know
how to be there for her
so i shut myself up
in my room to escape

and in this house 
i heard a splash at night
but i didn’t know
what it was
so when i found his body 
facedown in the pool 
bloated and purple
i threw up 

and in this house 
i realized that i had lost
my innocence 
but i didn’t know 
or want to believe it
so i told myself to hold on
to my childhood 
for just a little longer 

​

Melanie Han is an avid traveler and a poet who was born in Korea, grew up in East Africa, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing in Boston. She has won awards from Boston in 100 Words and Lyric, and her poetry has appeared in several magazines and online publications, such as Fathom Mag, Ruminate, and Among Worlds. During her free time, she can be found eating different ethnic foods, studying languages, or visiting new countries.

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