Poem: "Sacred to Medusa"
May. 7th, 2015 12:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem came from the December 3, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from LJ user Fayanora. It has been sponsored by gingicat. This poem belongs to the series Glimpses of Minoa, which you can find via the Serial Poetry page.
"Sacred to Medusa"
Medusa is the mother
of snakes and women too,
whose priestesses spoke proudly
of what their goddess knew.
The stars that tread the heavens,
the Moon that rules the sea,
were studied by Medusa
who set her knowledge free.
The snakes who ate the rodents
that fed upon the grain
were sacred to Medusa
and sprouted from her brain.
Each serpent was a thoughtform
that spoke in mother-tongue
the wisdom of the cosmos
when Knossos yet was young.
Now Knossos is a ruin
and snakes are scorned as sin,
but stones still bear old scriptures
and snakes can shed their skin.
Now women walk with worry
when they must go by night,
but Moon is still a goddess
remembering their right.
Medusa's still a power
whatever men may say,
and nightly sends her whispers
that girls may find their way.
Her fangs are sharp as ever,
her justice cold as stone.
The men may guard their treasures --
Medusa guards her own.
* * *
Notes:
You can read more about Minoan culture online.
Medusa is a famous figure from Greek mythology.
gingicat. This poem belongs to the series Glimpses of Minoa, which you can find via the Serial Poetry page."Sacred to Medusa"
Medusa is the mother
of snakes and women too,
whose priestesses spoke proudly
of what their goddess knew.
The stars that tread the heavens,
the Moon that rules the sea,
were studied by Medusa
who set her knowledge free.
The snakes who ate the rodents
that fed upon the grain
were sacred to Medusa
and sprouted from her brain.
Each serpent was a thoughtform
that spoke in mother-tongue
the wisdom of the cosmos
when Knossos yet was young.
Now Knossos is a ruin
and snakes are scorned as sin,
but stones still bear old scriptures
and snakes can shed their skin.
Now women walk with worry
when they must go by night,
but Moon is still a goddess
remembering their right.
Medusa's still a power
whatever men may say,
and nightly sends her whispers
that girls may find their way.
Her fangs are sharp as ever,
her justice cold as stone.
The men may guard their treasures --
Medusa guards her own.
* * *
Notes:
You can read more about Minoan culture online.
Medusa is a famous figure from Greek mythology.
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(no subject)
Date: 2015-05-08 12:08 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2015-05-08 12:45 am (UTC)Yay! I'm really glad that this finally got sponsored.
>> Especially the last verse, which evokes Take Back The Night. <<
Yes, I was aiming for that parallel. :D
(no subject)
Date: 2015-05-08 05:06 am (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2015-05-08 05:24 am (UTC)It's not actually new, though. Medusa has been interpreted as a feminist symbol before, along with the association between snakes and Goddess. I'm just kind of ... peeling off the Greek veneer.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2015-05-08 06:24 am (UTC)To swipe from Prospero and tweak, 'Tis new to me.
(no subject)
Date: 2015-05-08 09:38 am (UTC)I didnt realize it would be a rhythmic poem. I like it very much.
Thank you!
Date: 2015-05-08 09:39 am (UTC)Yay!
>> I didnt realize it would be a rhythmic poem. I like it very much. <<
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I like used rhymed, metered forms for some of the historic stuff.
(no subject)
Date: 2015-05-09 12:09 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2015-05-09 02:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2015-05-09 08:53 am (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2015-05-09 08:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2015-05-09 09:17 am (UTC)For some reason I hear this mentally as if it were spoken by an elderly woman, still strong, teaching the girls of yet another generation. It's a conversational "Medusa? She guards her own, child. She guards her own."
I love this.
Thank you!
Date: 2015-05-09 09:23 am (UTC)