"you can't subject others
to your hysterics,"
she voiced like my brother,
like my father and sister.
.
"excuse me?" I choked.
you see,
i had been in a dream
before she had spoke.
.
i wore a crown on my head,
a carpet laid at my feet,
for my enemies
to tread.
.
with a sword
by my side
with blood poured
on the floor, and a gleam in my eye.
.
a cage to my left,
full of shapeless birds I had heard
that would have partaken in theft
but were made a part of my herd.
.
i was a queen
who ruled on her throne.
i was an assassin
who forged bloodstone.
i was a shepherd
who led on her own.
.
i thought i had met all of the villains.
with a mere gaze i could point them out,
and destroy their tortuous munitions.
.
did i not stare into her eyes?
they're green like mine.
i thought their wonder and kindness to be a sign.
but those words show it was simply all a guise.
.
she stares at me
as my crown melts
and my carpet is rolled
and my sword loses its sheen
and their blood dries and leaves welts
and my eyes grow old
and the creatures are set free.
and then
she repeats.
I love this poem. The last line is so powerful and it's been a while since I read such a compelling poem that empowers women and their ability to break free from the box society sets them in, as well as, and open the doors for other global issues that haunt our society today (IE: racism).
ReplyDeletei had been in a dream/before she had spoke. I love this line. If I were you, I would switch the lines just because this sounds a little yoda-ee. On another note, I love how you relate her eyes to your own. I can only imagine this meaning that she is her own enemy, but her own savior as well which, despite the rest of the poem, is quite humanistic. Most of the time people cannot be categorized as either a villain or a hero but both like seen in so many great leaders Z(Ghandi comes to mind) and how you eloquently describe in this moving poem.
I love this!! Are you in a dream like sleeping in the moments that your wearing the crown? I loved your imagination in this poem with the carpet at your feet for enemies to tread on. So amazing!! The images are great. I love how you pull us into a moment from a different moment. Where it starts as a conversation it goes into imagination and dreams. Loved this!!
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