Medusa at the lawyer’s office

Mr Ovid, my lawyer, says

the new is worse today, as

i enter pale and smaller than before

i squirm in the chair as Mr Ovid takes

notes on his yellow legal pad   …. draws

conclusions i cannot see

.

i keep my knees pressed tight

my lawyer cannot seem meet my eyes

my lawyer assures i have my rights

though it seems my ex holds his lawful

shield tight to protects his ass; his assets

from those aforesaid rights

water tight

my head sets off again in all directions

snaking, buzzing, hissing, roaring

i can’t hear anything

i can’t

seem to take in

.

i’m blind

i’m blind-sided

by the opposing side, axed

i feel serpentine; queasiness rises

swallow my own bile, try for a smile

at Mr Ovid’s assurances, from across the divide

.

my lawyer explains as paradigms shift

my stomach sideways, as

the news is worse today, again, again

since the assault, the pillage, the severing began…. it gets worse

i’m blind to see how

Mr Ovid knows

i’m set in stone

written in as a ruinous, monstrous, breaker of home and hearth

but a beauteous one; a winsome catch

worth the wait

my lawyer knows

 i’ll have to pay, either way

my lawyer explains all this

.

i squeeze tight closed my eyes

as poisons seep deep within my pale green skin

i writh within

light headed light leaving my body like a Pegasus

taking flight

i leave my lawyer’s office

again

today

he proffers me a date

.

btw

april 30 2024

Crispin School, Street, Somerset, UK

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https://www.napowrimo.net

Day 30 prompt :- write a poem in which the speaker is identified with, or compared to, a character from myth or legend, as in  Claire Scott’s poem “Scheherazade at the Doctor’s Office.”

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The best-known story of Medusa comes from the Roman poet Ovid.

In the original story, the Medusa was a beautiful woman who held a very positive role. Tragedy fell upon her when she was confronted with endless hardships brought upon by male actions. Medusa was a beautiful woman who was raped, killed and beheaded by various gods. However even in the face of tragedy and disgrace, the Medusa was portrayed as meaningful. Following the moment her head was removed, a Pegasus flew out of her body, representing the birth of beauty.

Just as the Medusa was powerless to fight against the repressive actions forced upon her, so too was she powerless against the continual metamorphosing of the myth which resulted in the more popular Medusa myth commonly known today. In this popular version the Medusa is a monster with hair of a thousand snakes. She is under a curse which causes everything she looks at to turn to stone. Cixous explains that this monstrous image of the Medusa exists only because it has been directly determined by the male gaze. Once Cixous establishes that the myth of the Medusa is nothing more than a facade, she begins to question if the Medusa does in fact have the ability to turn things into stone or if her fearful imagery comes merely from our perception of her, a perception that has manifested itself from male warnings.