When women didn’t stay silent anymore

Artwork by Aldwin Li, staff artist

By Neha Varadharajan

“She had a marvelous time ruining everything.”

-Taylor Swift, “the last great american dynasty”

She had carved her place. Putting her gold

on the only place she hadn’t decorated &

she thought it fashionable, complete.

Isn’t it marvelously charming, that decadent sublimation?

The cookery you fried for so long then it doesn’t actually go bad,

but you think it does?

Nothing could glitch her. Water poured

on her feet as she whispered her success &

roared. minimally undressed was her reputation.

Isn’t it strangely mystic, that train of thought?

The grass you painted for so long then it doesn’t actually go brown,

but you think it does?

Ice didn’t freeze her feet. Big banquets

didn’t suppress emotion but created it &

her glance unmatched those of her critiques.

Isn’t it tastefully mangled, that utopian domination?

The men you trained for so long then it doesn’t actually go extinct,

and that’s what we women aim for you to believe?

Let it slip out of your locked fingers.

Let them own the world as you do.

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Contributor's Note: The idea for this piece stemmed out of female empowerment and stigma from a point of view around a century ago or so. I wanted to create something that would shout that kind of thing out and make females feel powerful, irrespective of what others think. Taylor Swift song, "the last great american dynasty", also provided as subtle inspiration for this poem.

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