On becoming the Gorgon

Maybe you know me. At least 

you’ll have heard of my eyes

and how you ought not look

at them- fulgent, burrowing

beneath a veil of thick writhing 

braids. Don’t worry about me, 

I’m harmless. I only like lounging

under the moon. Solitude a cloak

that keeps the old dogs at bay. 

See, I was always just born & 

how could I help to be beauty. 

A rose does not create itself, 

it just lives and lives and lives

until someone comes and shears

it from its root. Then ferries the 

fragile body back to a dusty room. 

There, it becomes transformed. 

No longer the thing it was born

but something closer to the shedding

scales of a snake. Each petal ebbing

from the head one by one. Soon, 

the stem becomes inured like stone

under the gaze of bright mornings 

through the window. You have 

probably seen it and know. I

don’t know. I have this thing 

where I crave the raw look. I pull it 

in to me, knowing, that like that rose

every eye that sees me will turn, 

at heart, to dark veined marble 

with a gaze forever tilted away

with a gaze forever heaved

up to the moon & afield from me

Author's Note

In some versions of the Medusa myth, she is raped by Poseidon and transformed into the monster by Athena as a punishment. This poem stems from that story.

Reviews

[SkinlessFrank]

To be a woman in a man’s world is to have the eyes and minds of men always upon you, gazing and defining who you are. This poem makes us think back to those younger years when we would ask, “who are we?”. It has us recall that sense of being on the verge of self-discovery until life plucked us from that journey. The soul in your poem tells us that she “craves the raw look”. I think we all do. To reject those gazes and be ourselves in a world that is forever defining us from superficial qualities verges on a supernatural power.

[Eilis]

I like that you brought up the question of identity. For me that is so closely aligned to the idea I was trying to express here. Sometimes the ability to explore those questions of who we are is taken from us and replaced with a false construct imposed by others. Yet it is instinct to seek out ways of understanding the self. Sometimes the only way to feel empowered is through shutting out the world and embracing the power one has to eschew connection. If there happens to be someone that can stand up to the raw look and not turn to stone, the life built becomes a question. But the stone exists inside first, I believe, if it is able to be transferred. Thank you for your always thoughtful readings of my poems. I do enjoy your responses.

[Ranger Kessel]

Very nice mix of poetry and mythology. I enjoyed tour poem

[Eilis]

Thank you very much, Ranger.

[Ranger Kessel]

You're welcome

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"don't hate me because i'm beautiful"
yes, the rose does not create itself...and often unwanted attention comes with that beauty...
and the revenge is turning men to stone...love how you mix mythology with very real interaction between the beauty and the beast.
j.

[Eilis]

Thank you, Jacob. I do definitely want to further explore beauty as an avenue toward harm. It’s everywhere in the old stories and so many of our new stories are built on the old. Thanks for taking the time to read so many of my poems today. I appreciate you.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I can hear Jeff Lynne singing, Turn To Stone. Chicks with snakes for hair are a definite turn-off for me. But your poem is great.

[Eilis]

Ha, thanks, Fabian. Snakes for hair can definitely cause some logistical problems. Nice to meet you. Thanks for reading.

[CLR9]

This reminds me of the one movie where Angelina jolie had cgi b***s

[Neville]

Ah' they say you can beat an egg, as indeed one can.. but you just can not beat a bit of ancient mythology can ya.... Super well crafted and a great depiction my good friend and poet...

Reminds me of the missus on a bad hair day..... :)

[Eilis]

Haha, thanks Neville. Might be me on a bad hair day too. Thanks for stopping by and bringing a good laugh along with you. Always appreciate your visits.

[Robert Trakofler]

I like that depiction for the ugliness of her visage was the ugliness of the cruelty done to her and what worse fate to be put upon her by being punished for being raped:) truly to look upon those eyes so cruelly done wrong would freeze anyone to stone. I often wondered what the symbology of medusa was at its root your poem makes a great deal of sense.

[Eilis]

Thank you, Robert. Yes, so many of our old stories offer the symbol but leave it for us to garner our own understanding. I’m sure the original readers had a completely different perspective due to the nature of their societies in general.

I was just reading John Dewey last evening discussing the relevance of art outside of its context. So, what you say struck a chord just now. The cruelty of the old gods was far reaching. A consequence of so many unknowns, I suppose.

Thanks for reading and understanding my message. Hope you have a lovely holiday there!

[gram linski]

the raw look of monster, and yet we look , we cannot hide our yearning for beauty, even if it kills us, and Medusa can only be who she is , she is deadly rose, has no choice, and chuckled gently in the dawn,eyes averted, too late, loved this,

[Eilis]

Thanks, Gram. What you say about beauty is very true. The pursuit of it is haunting for sure. Our natures often conflicted in the face of it.

And Medusa’s being taken from her, she became even more so. The beauty still being the covering of the inside. Some people won’t like that idea I guess. Her being the monster in popular imagination. But we’ve made monsters out of many things that maybe didn’t warrant the title.

Appreciate your thoughts on this. Thank you.

[Marie-Louise.]

Hi Eilis
I am having trouble not receiving emails. I have tried so many things to sort it. This problem started last Friday. I have written to admin@Writerscafe but no reply. Have you managed to solve the problem. Sorry to say I have not looked at your work, so concerned have I been about this problem. I shall look now...promise.

[Eilis]

Hi, no, I haven’t gotten the problem resolved. I think everyone is having the same problem. I also contacts the admins but haven’t received a reply. Hopefully the issue will be resolved soon!

[Marie-Louise.]

Sorry. I wrote to you on your John Muir poem too. Please don’t trouble to answer that too, but I must tell you that I love the poem. Thanks for your reply. Let’s hope all is sorted soon, I really miss the emails.

[Marie-Louise.]

It is sorted, I think. I received an email from you, my first in five days. So your emails should be filtering through. Good luck.

[Eilis]

Thanks, Marie-Louise. I see I got email notifications from you as well. Take care.

[R.E. Ray]

Eilis, as I do with most of your work, I discovered more than poetry. I've learned more about Medusa in this one. I believe your use of the rose in this piece is simple and brilliant. We can all see, feel, and smell the rose. We've seen the roses grow in the garden, posed in the flower shops and supermarkets, and arranged on tables in our homes.

When we see the rose as life, and a life we (humans) take for granted and often end with a knife or scissors, the comparison to human tragedies is more striking. And, we see ourselves, subject often to the violent tendencies of others, plus the aging process, and how we wilt away and ultimately dissolve into the earth.

As with your other poems, the imagery and emotion your create in your well-chosen words and crafted verses require no supplemental paintings or photos. Remarkable poem as written and formatted here.

[Eilis]

Thanks for this thorough and insightful examination of the poem/idea, Robert. Myths are fascinating to me, and I enjoy sometimes trying to create parallels with some of the women out of old myths. Parallels between them and a more modern idea of a woman, I mean.

Carol Ann Duffy wrote a whole book of poetry centered around the woman’s voice in old stories. I found her adaptations compelling and sometimes I’ll try one of my own.

Glad you enjoyed this one. I appreciate all the things you had to say. Those are definitely represented here. Always nice to hear from you. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.

[R.E. Ray]

You're welcome.