Bernie was my “new friend” to family members,
my “fox in the late-night” to close friends.
Our night-time phone calls inspired my trust,
but I should have known better at my age.

Lunch with his mom and shared stories together
had me believe he was caring, not misleading.
He had me thinking his abuse was aggressively caring,
but I should have known better at my age.

Too frightened and too embarrassed to say that
I was the victim of a crime by believing in love.
And when I spoke out, even my family believed
that I should have known better at my age.