The Voice In The Courtroom... Poem by WIN VENTURA

I stood in a box, not built for queens,
Under fluorescent lights and stale routines.
My hands were trembling, my heart was small,
Like a sparrow lost in a concrete hall.

The judge, the gavel, my name called out,
The silence thick with shame and doubt.
I wasn't guilty — but still I shook,
Like every right I had was something they took.

Then,
from deep within,
not a whisper,
but a roar —
A voice rose up like never before.

'Why do you fear, when you've done no wrong?
Your truth is fierce, your spine is strong.
You've cried enough, you've bled your share,
Now rise, woman — lift your chin and dare.'

And just like that, I stood up straight,
Not a widow of love — but survivor of fate.
No trembling lips, no shrinking soul,
Just a woman reborn from what life stole.

That voice?
It was me.
The me I forget.
The warrior queen I haven't met… yet.

But I've worn her crown since that very day,
And when the world breaks me — I hear her say:
'You are fire in a silk disguise.
You don't beg for peace. You rise.'

By: - WIN VENTURA