Day Seventeen

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope you had as much green beer, or green eggs and ham, as you wanted. I know I did.

Today’s piece may seem to be falling into a pattern. It is, I guess. I’m fascinated right now by mythological women, especially those who have been seen as nefarious. Today I bring you one of the most nefarious, but I see her through different eyes.

MEDUSA

 I am Medusa.
My name frightens men,
Paralyzes them to stone
At the very thought of my beauty,
My independence,
At the fact that I do not need them.

I am Medusa.
I am said to have snakes for hair.
This is, of course, not true,
For no one could survive
Such a strange morphology.
I have hair for hair.

I am beautiful
But have been painted as monstrous.
I am gentle
But have been viewed with terror.
I am a woman
But have been regarded as a monster.

Myths say my blood created
All sorts of strange creatures.
All it had to do was drip
And up they sprang.
Why are men so afraid
When women bleed?

I am Medusa.
I was beheaded by Perseus.
No one said it wasn’t okay
For a man to cut off a woman’s head.
They call him a hero
And celebrate his deeds.

I am Medusa.
I have a lot in common with
Anne Boleyn,