Muses, take note and listen to my voice,
Then sing of the injustice fate did foist
on Medusa, who caught a wanton god’s eye
Then suffered from another’s vengeful choice.

I was glorious, with long silky hair
Soft dark eyes turned men’s heads so they’d stare
As I passed. I relished the sweet knowledge
That I was a beauty beyond compare.

That splendid gift was my downfall, my curse.
To chaste Athena’s temple the perverse
Moirae led me: calm, trusting, alone
A sacrifice to a lustful god’s thirst.

And how could I fight the Lord of the Sea
He showed me no care, was deaf to my pleas,
I drowned in my tears; he took what he craved,
Then left me, shattered, like wrecked ship debris.

Nothing escaped chaste Athena’s bright eyes
She turned on me, raging, ignoring my cries
for mercy. I wish that day I had died,
than be prey to the torment she devised.

Sundered, then sculpted, in serpent’s form cast,
Slithering beast, an atrocity classed
a suitable foe by men stout of heart:
this viper of monstrousness unsurpassed.

I sob, surrounded by suitors of stone
This suffering, splintered soul has grown
so very tired of the rage, the spite,
Of a ceaseless existence spent alone.