Penn State’s Motto
My obituary is being written
Though I’m still alive
Year upon year of sunlight and green fields,
Cheering crowds, beautiful passes,
Tainted by inaction.
I knew about Sandusky and the Second Mile
All of those troubled boys
Victim 1,
11 or 12 years old
Sandusky brought him to church
The kid slept in his basement
Coach claimed to be working on wrestling moves
He had 61 phone calls on log to the boy
Not one returned
Victim 2
Just ten years old,
Caught in the showers with him at 10:00 pm by some teaching assistant,
Who heard water, slapping, and crying…
He told us; we did nothing
Victim 3
In the seventh grade,
Wore gym shorts to bed ,
Lay on his belly, trying to prevent it
Victim 4
Just a kid
Given Nike, Air walk,
Trips to games around the country,
In exchange for his childhood
He hid in the closet when the coach came calling
Victim 5
7 years old
Trapped in the shower
Not understanding why he couldn’t feel clean
Victim 6’s
Mother noticed his wet hair,
She reported the incident to police
And confronted Sandusky
Who said, “I wish I were dead”
Victim 7
Haunted by blurry memories,
Phone calls not returned
Victim 8
Witnessed by a janitor
Who sobbed at what he saw.
Veteran of war and sorrow,
Shocked by a middle aged man’s mouth on a young boy
Incident never reported
Janitor now suffers from dementia
I wish I too could forget,
That memory would blur
And curl at the edges like paper warped by water,
But when my moment came,
Words perished on my tongue
Now I too feel trapped in the showers
Stifled by steam
Praying for new baptism
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