Bleeding Sovereignty
Sovereignty hemorrhages
until standing upright
requires my full effort.I’m drained
through negotiations
that sound fair,
through requests
framed as necessity,
through compromises
dressed as maturity.Looking down
I find this opening
that never closed
because I framed it
as cooperation.I don’t know
how to stop
the bleeding.I only know
the soft anesthesia,
making me act
as if all this loss
was just another Tuesday.I feel faint
and call it faith.My authority
migrates into procedure.My autonomy
leaves through well-lit rooms.Power can leak out fully,
yet so gradually
that by the time you notice
you may still be standing,
still making your point,
still somewhat alive—yet no longer certain
who your “yes” belongs to.I feel
this comforting
false relief.How willingly
I participated
in my own hollowing
while still upright functioning,
bleeding sovereignty.
©2026 Samia Oldman
WHAT IS HUSH HALO?
Hush Halo is a dystopian sci-fi poetry collection set in a near-future shaped by technology, and optimized perfection. Each poem is paired with a unique soundscape created by poet, in Suno. Learn more in Square One.
Context: After the Great Optimization, a privileged group integrated into the system, believing they had now perfected themselves.
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