MEDUSA III
Be you beautiful – they will try to rape you.
Be you ugly – they will try to kill you.
Beauty is destined to be weak. Subtle beauty. Fragile beauty. Virgin beauty. Sophisticated beauty. Gentle beauty. Touching beauty.
Ovid says that Medusa was punished by Athena, “so that sin would not go unpunished.” Medusa sought refuge in the temple of Athena from the attack of Poseidon. But she did not find salvation there. A crime against a woman defiled the place where it was committed. For this, the goddess of wisdom punished Medusa with ugliness. And Poseidon was not punished – well, God ishis judge. Is it logical? Everything is logical for Ovid.
Contemporary women interpreter this myth differently: Athena turned Medusa into a monster not to punish her, but to save her. Gave her a terrible and deadly look so that no one else dared to approach her, and if someone did – they would regret doing so. Medusa used her power and protected herself until the gods betrayed her.
But I have my own version. Medusa Gorgon, thin and fragile, DECIDED to become a monster herself. The thin and fragile do not live in this world, they are quickly broken for the amusement of others.
You will not break.
I am
growing fangs
roughening my skin
taming snakes
looking straight into your eyes, without fear or mercy
looking at you with a look you can’t stand
a look in which you are reflected
are you afraid of yourself?
And I am not, I’m not afraid of you anymore.