Medusa’s Head Over Heels

I saw Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion portrayal
Perseus subdues her in all hero-style
Monstrously vain is the character it showed
but I'm quite certain now there's more to behold

In Athena's temple, it is said,
Poseidon takes Medusa to bed
In jealous wrath, Athena shakes
punishing Medusa with headful of snakes

In bitter isolation, cursing the curse
Those confronting her thereafter
only make matters worse
Into stone they turn and she is surrounded
by reminders and the self-pity compounded

So many women are blamed for the cheating
where men are excused when they're woefully bleating,
“Boys will be boys,” or
“The Devil made me do it”
The Other Woman scorned and life left in ruin

Hell hath no fury, as the saying would suggest
Guys are excused; gals greet the test
Heroes are lauded, all their foibles intact
If they have vaginas, their virtue's attacked

Warren well earned every 'snake' on her head
to challenge Jeff Sessions, Coretta's letter she read
Screwing the status, old boy's club upset
Mitch condescending for History said,
“Nevertheless, she persisted,” he'd woefully say
Though he'd struck at the Gorgon, he'd rue the day
Mitch trolls the teacher and he then gets schooled
Old white fart's power-grip would surely uncurl
His brain turns to mush as his heart is to stone
They don't admit it, but now
they've all been owned

Medusa's head's in a rage,
but history's turned a page
Black Lives Matter, Me2 women scorned
all scream of injustice to even the scores.
So it's time for the “heroes” to fall
these self-righteous zealots so sad, so forlorn
Melancholy mummers,
Fox & Friends on the horn
Their Grand Old Party
was never less grand
with maskless parades in boats
and on land
looking backward and heeding
The Coward's command
The Future, bright and coloured,
nevertheless, is at hand

Self-identifying as a neurodiverse, two-spirit, elder storyteller deeply rooted in the lore and roar that has become Portlandia of The Left Coast, this wordwright attributes success and survival (if not salvation) to superlative supports, mindfulness practice, and daily creative expression in words, sounds, and images.