By Farheen Sharif
At the dawn’s edge, escaped the horizon, the last of light
When the whirling day faded, ushering in a stygian night,
When the ocean swallowed Helios, mocking its very might
Etched the path for stars to reign, a resplendent twilight
On the haven where the ocean embraced the shore
Yet each vigilant, clasped its province to the core
There was born a beauty so precious, a damsel so divine
Her touch alone could redeem, the eternally doomed mankind
Born to Ceto and Phorcys, the eternal Sea Gods at the helm
Descended from Zeus, together they commanded the Ocean realm
But Medusa was destined to a mortal fate, her end made imminent
A mortal in the celestial lineage, a human forged with ethereal element
She bathed in splendor so arcane, and allure of an omniscient Goddess
Her visage crowned by dawn-kissed hair; drove witnesses to madness
Envied by the very Goddesses, sorcerous her silhouette, her presence mystique
Enchanting was her grace, that tempted men—and the Gods alike
Unshaken, unscathed through desires of flesh, her form so pious,
She resided in the temple of Athena, serving as her sacred priestess
Consumed in reverence, sunk in veneration for the virgin deity
To the Goddess of wisdom, courage and crafts, she pledged celibacy
Vast floors, marbled walls and chiseled Pediments, marked Athena’s sanctuary,
Nurturing the chastity of her priestess, stood her casted bronze effigy
Through the thick temple walls, pierced the gaze of Poseidon, the ‘Lord of the Seas’
Enchanted by her beauty, ruler of the big blue seas, brought to his knees
He lost his heart and senses, to the lustrous golden locks of the maiden,
But, what followed, alas, was his discernment and judgment
Bathed in lust, burned in fervor, indifferent to the sanctity of her devotion,
The mighty Trident bearer sought a union, to coalesce the lands and the ocean
Tales of the ages speak as testimonials, to the ravages of wounded masculine pride
He, after all, is the primordial God, the commander of the seas, in all his might!
In the very halls of Athena’s temple, the Goddess of justice, her priestess defiled
Before the visage she relentlessly worshipped, on the altar she served day and night!
She refused and pleaded, begged and resisted, every measure in her capacity
Yet all her strife was in vain, to protect, to retain, her dear precious modesty
To Athena she prayed, “Oh Goddess! I have pledged my existence to you
Protect me, Minerva! Save me, your priestess cries to you, get me through”
The grand chambers of the temple echoed her screams, her yells for mercy
Yet none pierced the walls of Olympus! Does faith hold no primacy?
Neither the omniscient Gods above nor the men below came to her rescue
Her haunting cries faded from the halls and a deafening silence ensued
Quenched of carnal desires, he then abandoned her, on the cold rocky altar
her unveiled flesh bruised, her soul and skin etched with unhealable scars
Trust betrayed, modesty ripped, chastity stripped and her body defiled
Ravaged in the hands of a lustful God, her faith in divinity died
At this hour, it dawned upon her, the insignificance of her mortal existence,
Gods are the things for worship, to be adorned, yet from a distance
They mock the frailty of men, yet they are equally flawed beings
All they lay their hands upon, turns to ashes, destined to a certain ruin
And now the real horror ensued as Athena arrived, violent, aggravated
Once venerated for its purity, now her temple stood defiled, desecrated
Wrath of the Goddess evoked, through the irreverent sacrilege
The one, revered for justice, now her countenance burned in a seething rage
For eternity, womanhood has borne the price, for simply existing among men
Since ages, from time and again, the history has collected its due from them
The offender walked out free while the innocent left to face repercussions
Is it the first in history, where a woman paid for a man’s transgressions?
Justice lost its pursuit again, the preeminence of a God, of a man, won,
At the very hands of goddess, worshipped for justice, it came undone
Having endured an endless torment, still, the curse fell upon the innocent,
For eternity to remain a monster, condemned to banishment
The long tresses of Medusa, which once flowed like threads of gold
Now her locks turned to serpents, whose fangs were out and eyes cold
Adored as the beacon of beauty once, is now a creature fearsome
One to meet her gaze would be petrified, turned to stone
Of course, Gods rule over men, and we, their playthings, she was but a pawn
To elude the male gaze, she found refuge in the lone lands of Sarpedon
Her fury vehement, that burned, in a rage of a thousand pyres set ablaze
Reduced to ashes, the remainder of her, every fragment longed to be razed
She spent what felt like an eternity in agony, questioning what was her sin,
A maiden once loved and revered, now an outcast, feared by her own kin’
Fearsome of her grotesque form, the one she saw in still waters and mirrors—
Hard to discern, what she’s become, since something died in her, on that day, on that forsaken altar
All what she cherished was now lost, yet the destiny had more for her in its stores
Several men in pursuit of fame and glory, arrived on her shores
For an untamed woman with reckless power, is nothing short of a sport
To survive the world of men, a woman turned her curse to defense, as a last resort
Morphed into a reckless, a ruthless, a heartless, a fearsome fiend
A monster that froze men to stone, that came seeking her end
A myriad of their effigies finely decorated the banks of Sarpedon
Scourged with yet shielded, her curse was now a double-edged sword
Several springs and falls passed by, until came a man charged with a sacred quest,
To seek the Gorgon’s head, and place her ravaging tyranny to a tranquil rest
Hero of fate, his name was Perseus, half-human child to the great Zeus,
Fragility and frailty of a human, yet the grandeur and valor of a God he oozed
Several Gods aided his pursuit, with weapons of infinite lethality
Hades offered him the ‘Helm of darkness’, rendering its bearer invisibility
And Athena granted him a mirrored bronze shield, came to be known as Aegis
Foremost of all, was the adamantine sword, conferred by the great Zeus
Arriving at the stark island, he sought the Gorgon through her realm
The same forsaken lands of Sarpedon, yet for her, her only Elysium
Guided by the sea-nymphs to the abyss, his path traced her abode
The cave at the heart of islet, where the meeting brooks formed a node
Came in Perseus, quiet and swift, found the beastess sleeping in her lair
Grotesque her form, etched with time, that bore serpents for hair
Through the mirrored Aegis he gazed upon her, yet fleeing her very gaze
He severed her head from the rest, with a slash of adamantine blade
A silent scream echoed, and a trail of blood escaped her carcass
Her slain shell, parted from a serpentine crown, a sight hard to pass
Along with the gushing blood through her severed neck, a light emerged
The seeds of her womb, Pegasus and Chrysaor, her children, she birthed!
Curse of the Goddess persisted to hunt and haunt, throughout her life, now death
Parted with the rest of her body, her visage still wielded its power, it’s strength
Her severed head continued to petrify those who met its gaze
Until, the curse was lift, it united, at Olympus, with Athena’s bronze Aegis
Violated, denied of justice, cursed, molded to a monster to be tamed and slain
Then merged with the shield that aided her end, ugly, is her fate’s tale!
A story of lust, betrayal, helplessness and despair, a grief-wrought poem,
A chronicle of ill-fate, her life, a paradoxical emblem!
If, somehow, justice could prevail in the end? Well…. That’s a tale for another long day!
By Farheen Sharif
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