O Sovereign Holy by Iris Eve

 

Art by Andrea Redmond

O Sovereign Holy,

She of No Masters,
Revered Mother Warrior,
Protectress of the Old Ways,
Queen Boudicca the steadfast;

You who stands vigilant
in defiance of oppression,
in the face of sanctioned brutality,
we honor you.

You, who with more courage
than ten thousand Roman soldiers,
stared down a threat the size of militarized religion,
and still came roaring bravely into battle,
dauntless in your defense of the sacred,
we thank you.

So fierce was your fortitude
that even after your foes
destroyed all you held dear,
and burnt everything to the ground,
still they committed your feats
to their own history books.

Chronicled by your enemies
as a formidable warrior indeed,
but also as a woman of strange magic.

So fearsome was your campaign,
so cunning was your power,
your legacy of resistance lives on
in the hearts of your descendants
as our birthright,
and we revere you.

Born of the greatest violation,
into the ashes of a defeated nation,
your granddaughters rise.

Poem and art from the upcoming Girl God Anthology, In Defiance of Oppression -The Legacy of Boudicca.


Iris Eve is a poet, singer-songwriter, artist, tarot reader and the founder and curator of “SHE On The Tip Of Her Tongue,” a popular social media site that amplifies the voices and art of women. You can find her at cunningandkeening.com