Take the compliment—

Creepy stares at night,

Men in alleyways,

Creepy men in broad daylight,

Take their compliment.

It’s theirs to compliment— 

Your thighs are not your’s to own,

Your stomach is not your’s to fill,

Breast not your’s to hide,

Take their dirty compliment.

They will pretend their words are innocent,

That their intentions are not foul,

But when you are 16 and he is 60,

And the topic is your thighs in shorts,

His compliment is a nasty predator on the prowl. 

Do not take the compliment.

-A.L.