Body Wars — A Poem by Louisa Rodriguez

Visual Art by Candela Kerze

FUCK by Candela Kerze

You took my body,

Claimed it. Possessed it.

I was numb, frozen.

You took my body

Claimed it. Possessed it.

I buried the emotion, buried the memory, 

I detached from my body, too disgusted by it,

Too scared to feel it,

Too scared to live within it,

Too scared to live with the truth.

In time I came to know,

Facing the truth,

Ready to speak the words, thawing emotion buried deep within.

My body asked me to hear,

My body asked me to feel,

My body knew better than I did,

My body knew how to heal.

My body showed me to dance the sacred dance,

Dance of release,  dance of reawakening,

My body is sacred.

My body belongs to me and me alone,

My body is for me and me alone,

My wild, free body,

My body, 

I claim it.

__________________________________________

About the Poet

Louisa Rodriguez is a facilitator, poet, and Reiki master. When Louisa isn’t working you can find them adventuring in the mountains of the Lake District, UK, running free, and wild swimming. All of which provide inspiration for their writing. Writing, the outdoors, and running have been an important part of their journey to recovering from Post-Traumatic Stress. Follow Louisa on Instagram.

About the Artist

Candela Kerze is an emerging illustrator based in Madrid. She has worked with national audiovisual festivals like RETEENA Fest in Barcelona and international platforms like VICE. Her art has a lot of popular culture references, memes and deep strong colors. She uses to talk about her life, touching topics like mental health, anxiety, and internet humor. Popular references she uses are cutecore and cartoon aesthetics, Lora Mathi’s concept: Radical Softness as a Weapon, internet icons like Pepe The Frog and popular young culture in general. You can view more of Candela’s portfolio on their website or Instagram.