Women Poetry: Ms. Sangeeta Gupta, India

Exclusive: Women Poetry: Edited by Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

Sangeeta Gupta

THE MYTH OF MEDUSA -  DECONSTRUCTED 1

Medusa, you were betrayed by the gods 

they called you a demon though

Your innocence, your purity of the body and the soul was violated

You were a priestess, praying in the temple of Athena, the goddess

without your consent you were taken away

by Poseidon, the sea god

Athena cursed you instead of cursing Poseidon

You prayed, you pleaded but she did not heed

You lost your virginity to a god

You were heartbroken and devastated

what killed you more Medusa

the physical violation of Poseidon

or was it the betrayal of Athena

whom you worshiped and revered

more than anyone in the universe

when you needed healing, Athena cursed

taking away your beauty, isolating you from all others was an act of envy,

justice was denied to you

It seems it is a universal curse 

on womanhood by Athena.

***

THE MYTH OF MEDUSA – DECONSTRUCTED 2

Medusa, you were immortal still

you could turn any male into stone 

you turned your curse

into an asset with vengeance

you rose from the victim mode

with furious rage

you became a challenge to the gods

they killed you by design, through scheming

yet your head remained immortal

you returned finally to Athena

as a symbol of her shield

reminding her always

of the wrong done to you

you returned as a savior

that was your sweet revenge 

and unconditional love for Athena

Medusa, let me salute you.

***

Sangeeta Gupta from New Delhi has 25 published books of which 10 are translated in languages like German, Greek, Mandarin, English, Bangla, Dogri, Tamil and Urdu. There is a collection of short stories, 15 poetic anthologies in Hindi and 5 in English to her credit. She was adjudged as highly commended poet 2020 in the category of Faith-centred poetry. Her poems were adjudged as highly commended for October and November ‘19; July, August, October, December ‘20 and January 2021 and was also adjudged as Commended critic for December ‘19; January and February ’21 by Destiny Poets International Community of Poets (ICOP), Wakefield, UK.

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The Myth of Medusa Deconstructed :: Setu, March 2021