I Return This Luggage

To the sweetest one within,

Remember you are innocent.

You are not to blame,

And are truly magnificent.

I’m sorry you don’t see it

And right now, you are in pain

For something terrible happened

That left you feeling shame.

Remember the actions of others

Are never your fault.

They made their own choices,

To fill your wounds with salt.

The blame you have carried,

It is like abandoned luggage,

And it’s time it is returned,

To those who dealt the damage.

So let’s take a moment,

To see and speak the truth.

And return all this baggage

To those it belongs to.

To the girl who sold your body,

For a price of high school fame,

I hope one day she understands

What it’s like to feel such shame.

To her mother who scolded you,

And chose to yell and berate,

I hope one day she reconciles

With being filled with so much hate.

To the adults who looked away,

And praised the young boys,

I hope one day they realize

They also had a choice -

To be a voice of love and reason,

And to create a safe structure,

But instead chose to conform,

And perpetuate rape culture.

To the people that victim blame

And preach like they understand

I hope one day they stop speaking

And learn to listen and expand

Their small point of view,

Into something much larger,

And listen with compassion

Instead of speaking with daggers.

To the bystanders who witnessed,

And turned away at your darkest hour,

I hope one day they take an honest look

At how that night they were a coward.

And to the boys who haunt the night,

And tried to steal a young girl’s innocence,

I hope one day the wheel of fate turns

And they pay for their sinfulness.

It is now time we return

All this luggage to the past

These bags are not ours to carry.

We are finally free at last.

May everyone face the truth

And atone in divine time,

And never again blame a child

For someone else’s crimes.

Written by Amanda Durocher

6/9/25