Power

Power.

Power to stand.

Power to speak.

Power to protect.

Power to make change.

Power to change.

Power to support others.

Power to support ourselves.

Power in connection.

Power in us all.

 

I used to think power was an object

Held and pushed toward weak ones.

To ensure, they felt it and saw it fully.

Then, and only then, would power be in full effect.

The object could be passed on,

One to another,

but never held by more than one person in any one space.

 

I used to think power was a weapon

That could be wielded at the bearer’s hand

Only to demolish everything in its path, with a single command,

Leaving dust so small that no one would come against them again.

 

I used to think power was a place

That could be built up and tower over anyone in its shadow.

And when they tried to escape the darkness,

Power would build higher – Nothing to fear.

 

I once met a white woman who would clothe herself in black

In order to feel powerful in high places.

For this woman, black meant power –

But only when put on.

I wonder if she also found that ironic –

As she stared at me.

Black, stretching tightly over my body.

Black filling every crease and crevice of my limbs.

The irony isn’t in the absence of power when clothed in black,

The irony is in the assumed power in the skin she was already in.

 

I once watched a woman, who sat in the middle of a bay –

When it was winter.

She held a giant milkshake in between her hands,

And she shivered.

She said it made her feel powerful to choose to be cold.

Sometimes power gets confused with control.

 

And now, what do you think?

 

I think power isn’t an object, to be held, and given – passed.

I think power isn’t a weapon –

Power doesn't control,

Power insights respect,

Not fear.

Accountability, justice –

Never revenge.

Power is a substance – an energy,

Embodied.

Power is mine.

I think power is mine too.

I think power is refined in the quiet, unending, nights filled with questions and hope for a new day.

I think power is designed for only those with the most gracious minds.

 

I think power is yours.

I think power is yours too.

Because power isn’t a colour.

No, power isn’t a colour, it’s a substance, an energy.

We won’t run out of it – it’s never lost.

True power is never lost.