The Rapist Wears a Suit and Tie



The rapist wears a suit and tie,
The killer wears a dress,
The lynch mob wear school uniforms,
Priests sin and won’t confess.

The advocates of greed and force
Give, speaking to a crowd,
Social acceptability.
Group violence is allowed.

No longer kept in check by law
Or by bright lights of day,
The night-time ape sheds human clothes
To pillage, rape and slay.

The ape’s “my tribe, my clan, my group”
Justifies every theft,
Uncaring if it leaves the poor
Of land - or life - bereft.

But safety comes from rule of law,
Base instincts being checked.
When we help those least like ourselves,
Ourselves we then protect.

Protect those most unlike yourself,
Enforce the rule of law,
Shine bright lights into bullies’ lairs,
Jail apes - defang, declaw.

The killer may still wear a dress,
Rapist still wear a suit,
But violence can be kept in check
If news and courts aren’t mute.

Robin Helweg-Larsen

If you have any thoughts on this poem, Robin Helweg-Larsen  would be pleased to hear them.