Pitfalls of Pride & Cranky Women

Colette Jonopulos has been inspired by the unfortunate Medusa, who dared to rival the cranky Athena:


DOWNWARD STROKE
—Colette Jonopulos, Eugene, OR

Then he aimed a stroke down at Medusa’s throat and
Athena guided his hand.
—Mythology, by Edith Hamilton

Our voices tire of the sound sorrow
makes; we face day’s resolute end,
listen for cicadas’ night cries, slow whine
of engines headed home, doors
closed, locks slid into place.

Into the lull, on her bareback mare, rides
loss, thin, recognizable by her
scent. On her fingers, garnets set
in silver. In her hair, slick ivory beads
woven through braids woven
by fingers covered in lemon oil.

Fresh press of citrus fills the air
as the lithe boy removes beads
one by one, twines her hair between
long fingers, pulling tight,
twisting oiled strands.

She anticipates the pungent
scent of human defeat, knows to
open the door part way, her knee
pressed into the opening, thick drops
of oil on her forehead; she recognizes
silence as something she once
felt, the fullness of a moment
drained, the dry afterward when
nothing can be saved.

__________________________

Thanks, Colette! More about Medusa as we go along. Did you know she was Pegasus' mother?

The fireworks contest has started to get results, which we'll save for an explosion on the Fourth. Send in a poem about fireworks and receive a free copy of Mary Zeppa's The Battered Bride Overture.

Snakebytes, the monthly e-newsletter about current happenings at Rattlesnake Press, hits the airwaves today. I can't send them all out at once, though (the limitations of Hotmail), so they go out in waves. You should have yours by the end of the weekend. (If you're not on the list and would like to be, write to me at kathykieth@hotmail.com)

—Medusa