An Open Letter To My Fellow Survivors:

You are not the

house of horrors

trauma built

inside of

you

 

They tried to fit us

into cheap hotel rooms

and jail cells and

locked wards

of hospitals

 

Slapped us with labels

the same way your abuser

first slapped you across

the face

 

And you ceased to be you

 

in one skin splitting

split second

 

as the mind splits

to wall off the trauma

 

Don't bleed on the good carpet

 

 

It takes courage

to look beyond

medical records

or a prison number

and see

 

your own humanity

in a society

 

That will weaponize

your trauma

against

you

 

Never let you up

off your knees

 

Shame you back

to your abuser

 

Police your body

 

What were you wearing

Did you keep your legs shut

 

This is the wound of being born

woman we all

carry

 

this is the price to pay

for daring

to embody

 

Goddess

Woman

Whore

Witch

Crone

 

For allowing just the smallest spark

of the divine feminine

to shine through

 

Never stop fighting

for you

 

For your right

to be the bravest woman

you’ve ever

incarnated

 

And to see her

in all the women

you'll ever

meet

-Written by Elizabeth Gade; first published by The View Magazine Summer 2022 Issue