Alise Versella
In Defense of My Existence
Philomela was raped
And before she could bring
A kingdom to his knees
King Tereus cut out her tongue
They wish they could sever a tongue from this hellish mouth
The gods turned her into a nightingale
Like somehow flight would save her
Not like every time young girls first learn to fly
Learn the broad range of their wings and the length of their shadow
Only to have those great wings bound
Oh how
I’ve had enough of someone pinning my wings down
In nature the only sound
Of the nightingale
Comes from the mouth of the male
The gods did Philomela no favor
You must learn as a woman to become your own savior
Philomela’s sister served King Tereus his own son
On a platter
Penance for the wrong he’d done
We will serve you your future sons on a platter with our blood
For we deserve a future better than the seeds you’ve sown
And I will not sink silently into the mud
I will not go quietly
You won’t drown out this voice in a flood
Every time a hawk screams or a crow
Or a banshee on your war fields
Know
Every splitting fiber in the marrow of your bones
Was felt by a woman first
You will no longer bury our severed tongues in the dirt
Philomela will not be reduced to myth
She will stand testament
To history
Until a new story
Takes precedence
Alise Versella is Pushcart nominated for her work with Women’s Spiritual Poetry. Kirkus has called her…”[A] boundlessly energetic and promising technician [who] crafts a unique blend of the symbolist and the confessional; a talented, promising newcomer.” She is a contributing writer for Rebelle Society and has been featured on online journals such as Elephant, Entropy, and Ultraviolettribe</em. She resides as coffee enthusiast and dessert queen, performing at various local cafes and libraries along the Jersey Shore.
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