Snakes in Her Hair

Medusa's story

is one that has been poured over

and over

pulling apart each letter until it is 

not a letter 

anymore

shared and split down the middle

and torn

should have been 

hers to tell

to speak 

but it has not been

so I will attempt to do her justice.

Maybe she needed to become a monster

at least metaphorically 

she needed to become

of scales and snakes and scars

broken shards

and promises

to survive 

unwilling to let this broken person emerge

from a broken history

dead before she could break.

Maybe she was already a monster

before the curse even touched her skin

hardened by a world that wanted her dead

or no longer innocent

no facade of control

no feeling of control

no control

at all.

Maybe the title of monster  was a blessing,

a way of surviving 

breathing when told to suffocate

allowing her to break free of the cage

she was born in

big enough to not know that it's there

until you grow 

and it does not.

Maybe monster is not an insult to women

with snakes in their hair.