By Bianca Tonantzin Zamora
I am brilliant.
I will say that again
I-AM-BRILLIANT.
I am the MOON /the STARS/ the SUN.
A bold combination of chingona fire/ mujer warrior/ an Aztec goddess.
I had to learn it was beautiful to repeat this outloud
Because the oppressors taught abuela, who taught mamÃ, who taught me
That calladita se ve mas bonita
That my silence is a virtue
That I should be
A silent martyr whose body and labor are best when unacknowledged
That my brilliance is to be ashamed of
To be kept a secret among the shadows
That to make myself smaller is to be a good woman
The right kind of woMAN.
The colonized WOMXN.
Pero ya me canse with discourses that tell me
That to be silenced and oppressed is to be humble.
Nahhhh!
I scream for myself/ for hermanas/ for madres
And abuelas and daughters and aunties and vecinas
Who are taught they should not have the audacity to claim the air.
I break free of colonizing shackles
I work to free other hermanas
I throw my hands up and slice ideologies that work to dismiss me/ police me/ control me.
I fight for mujeres who have been silenced and othered
I write for LAS OTRAS who are the MOON/ the STARS/ the SUN
Reminding them that our magic is not a secret to be kept in darkness
Reminding them that WE ARE BRILLIANT.
Used with permission of the author. Photo provided by the author.
