i. when i am overlooked it is persephone who straightens my spine. i know her as ruler. she who was stolen and stole back. sunkissed and sweet like a pomegranate. her body ripped from the softness of her world and thrown into the dark. yet thrived in it. girl turned queen. a woman who commanded power and knew how to nurture it. for she is one who has learnt of cruelty and still makes a home out of spring. she who never shrunk herself and who fought back. when i raise my voice her laugh echoes with delight.Â
ii. when i am easily dismissed it is athena who seethes on my tongue. who claws at my throat. who smiles with bared teeth. and bites. she demands and erupts and triumphs. and i think. how clever the woman of battle. for she has learnt the language of men. her wisdom echoes in my bones. it guides me when to wait and when to strike. so divine yet vicious. i taste athena in my victory, the victory i deserve. when i claim it as my own she grins and it is beautiful.Â
iii. when i am worshipped it is aphrodite who hisses my response. a woman of beauty so unbeautiful in her venom. so undone. i feel her in the touch of a lover. her voice is gentle when she whispers in my ear love is not a treasure to be unearthed on your lips. i think. how wise a woman so adored by men. with eyes that are witness to monsters of legend. and monsters of another kind. at night she shows me my reflection and points. this. this is the love you should devote yourself to. for it is endless and pure. woman of my dreams, so loving and bright. when i wear the clothes i want her eyes shine.Â
iv. when i am grabbed it is artemis who speaks up. huntress. warrior. protector. she howls from my mouth and it is violent. both a protest and a statement. she brings a storm, a reckoning. sister of mine and many. men rail against the wrath of my defender. when i see her i know the rage of my mother and my mother’s mother. and oh how it burns. how it roars and consumes. and yet how sweet the love of artemis when it is earned. slowly. when it is not taken but given freely. and cherished. she is both fierce and tender. when i say no her face is warm and encouraging.Â
when his grip is tight like a possession. when monsters lurk behind the stares of men. when the voices of my mother and my mother’s mother is swallowed by the noise of their husband’s and son’s. i can hear the gods stir. taste their rage filling my lungs. sense the hum of their bodies awaken under my skin.Â
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