unyielding beyond trembling limbs
she spoke
with each utterance she unveiled the complexity of her secrets
as those in power geared up
to weaponize her survivorship

and through it all she struggled to tell her story
to be heard
to be believed

male fragility lost no time
with sheer abandonment
the aggressor self-aggrandized
staking claim
pretending victimhood
bemoaning the inconvenience
her right for validation and justice caused him

with words spun from positions of privilege,
he obscured past transgressions,
attempting to devour her composure
as she remained exposed,
struggling against the stench of shame

and still she struggled to tell her story
to be heard
to be believed

without deviation, she pushed through
the defamation,
the devaluation,
the blame,
the threats
remaining steadfast in her recollections
and unequivocally engaged
to the truth

under the glare of arrogance resonating from those
who reveled in debasing her pain,
she detailed without reserve
the painstaking anguish
and despair–
to present her testimony

wagons drawn taut, his defenders rallied
granting him untethered consent
to laud over the truth
with cruel mockery
Taunting with outright deflection
he and his slippery ilk
set forth
questioning her faultless memories.
endeavoring to shred her spotless reputation,
while methodically belittling her nightmares

and still she struggled to tell her story
to be heard
to be believed

​