sex takes the consent of two
if one person is lying there not doing
anything
cause they are not ready
or not in the mood
or simply don't want to
yet the other is having sex
with their body it's not love
it is rape
if one person is lying there not doing
anything
cause they are not ready
or not in the mood
or simply don't want to
yet the other is having sex
with their body it's not love
it is rape
2014
This poem is a great example of Kaur's fearlessness of sensitive topics, in this case, rape. Her language is incredibly direct. She explicitly defines the difference between consensual sex and rape by outlying specific situations in which consent is not given. Furthermore, the final line, the shortest in the poem, the one that will "stay" with readers, punctuates the sentence that is those potential non-consensual settings, emphasizes how clear consent is—if it is not a cognizant "Yes," "it is rape." This unambiguous, blunt approach is what people are calling for to help stop sexual abuse, and Kaur certainly did her part towards that end with the language of the poem.