Don't You Dare

Have you ever been told you don’t have the right to your own body, voice, or truth? This poem is a defiant response to those who use power, wealth, and manipulation to silence the soul. It’s a powerful declaration that no matter how much they take or distort, your spirit remains untouchable. How often do we allow others to think they can own us, only to realize that, in the end, our souls cannot be taken?

You want wealth and power to shield your pride,
To silence the shame of what was done
To the man, you call your house’s spine.

What makes you think you can dangle
Toys and jewels, lusting for flesh,
To snuff out my voice—
A voice you call delusional,
Wrapped in dreams of cinematic love?

You say you’ve seen the world
Through “practical” eyes—
What makes you think I was born blind?
Blind to the rot and the predator’s games,
Blind to the weight of being prey
In this filthy, rigged charade?

Yes, I cried into the night,
Hating the sacred wounds on my body
You dared to glorify.
But even then,
They could not take my spirit.

So what makes you think you can now?

Don’t preach to me of love and respect,
When your hands made me sick of myself—
Made me regret my existence.

I grew up owning my body, and my voice.
And though I gave away my light for a time,
Tired of upholding what’s right,
Don’t you dare forget—

My soul is power,
My spirit is divine.
I am the storm, the reckoning,
And you will never take what’s mine.

Have you ever been told to shut up, to shrink, or to hide the parts of yourself that others can’t handle? What would it look like for you to stop dimming your light for them and reclaim what’s yours? This poem reminds us that even when others try to control or shame us, we still hold the power to rise. Can you hear your own voice, louder than ever before?