DIDACTIC: "STALKING" BY BISHOP SAHR ISAAC PETERSON

He found her shadow in the street at dusk, 

A phone that hummed with pictures not meant to roam. 

He sent her skin to James with a careless smirk, 

And watched her world begin to crack at home.

The messages came like rain on broken glass,

Each word a stone that made her heart feel numb.

Mary walked to school with eyes on every turn,

Her footsteps quick, her breath a thin, tight thread.  

The guy was always there where lights grew dim,

A whisper chasing her like something dead.

She stopped to sleep, but sleep would not arrive,  

The phone would buzz and steal her quiet night.

James read the photos, then looked away in shame,  

But the guy kept laughing, pushing things too far. 

He followed Mary past the market stalls, 

A shadow clinging closer than a scar.  

Her days grew small, her laughter lost its sound, 

Fear built a wall she could not climb around.

She told her mother, voice a shaking leaf,  

And wrote it down before the fear grew wild.

The police came slow but steady as the tide,

And took the threats that made her feel defiled.

The man ran off when sirens split the air,

And hid where no one knew his name was there.

Stalking is a door that locks from outside,

It steals the key and leaves you trapped within.

It turns the street, once open, into cages,

And makes a home feel unsafe as a den.

What starts as a joke can grow a heavyweight,

A weight that crushes trust and future days.

A photo shared without a yes is theft, 

A life exposed and left out in the rain.

It stains the mind with pictures that won’t fade,

And turns safe moments into sharp-edged pain.

The harm stays long after the screen goes dark,

A wound that asks, “Who will protect my heart?”

If someone follows you and won’t let go,

Speak up, don’t wait for silence to decide. 

Tell family, tell police, keep records safe,

And let the law stand close to be your guide.

No one deserves to live inside that fear,

No one should hide because another’s here.

© Bishop Sahr Isaac Peterson

A Poetry Maestro

A Creative Writing Coach, Africa. 

- Sierra Leone 

The poem “Stalking” shows how Mary becomes a victim of stalking and online harassment after a man invades her privacy and spreads her personal images. His actions disrupt her life and fill it with fear and insecurity.

As the stalking continues, Mary struggles emotionally and begins to lose her sense of safety in everyday places. The constant threats and surveillance affect her peace of mind and relationships with others.

In the end, she speaks out and reports the situation, leading to police action. The poem delivers a warning about the dangers of stalking and stresses the importance of consent, privacy, and seeking help.