Maya Del Rio Reddan Deposing Power

DEPOSING POWER

CW: Themes of sexual assault

Power imprisons you from within

It’s the thing that forces, coerces, convinces

Decreeing what is Real, what is True and what is Common Sense

What he has to say is more trustworthy, believable What she says is unreliable, dubious

It demands no further explanation, no further justification, it is the way it is, because that’s How Things Are

Power silences survivors for years Even when they know it’s ‘victim blaming’ Even if they’ve written essays on it

But did I encourage it?

Power deceives it lies through carefully spun tales

But am I remembering that right?

It fucks with who you think you are, gripping your guts etching itself in your cellular memory, without permission

Power claims to be unimpeachable But power is always afraid That you’ll root it out and refuse its sovereignty That you’ll find your own That you’ll feel, finally What you know to be real and true and common sense.

by Maya Del Rio Reddan (she/her)