The Gift of Gaze
The Gift of Gaze
My hair whispered serpentine hymns,
yet still they leaned closer, daring their whims.
My gaze fell on suitors who only took,
plundering lives with a thieving look.
They claim I betrayed Athena’s hand,
and her curse was the weight I was forced to withstand.
But lean in closer, lend me your ear,
for truth is not always what stories appear.
I was taken by force, my vows torn apart,
reduced to a body, denied of my heart.
They named me defiled, made me less than divine,
but the sin was not hers, and the blame was not mine.
The goddess who saw, with benevolent eyes,
bestowed me a gift wrapped in mortal disguise.
No punishment cruel, no exile, no ban—
but a shield to defend from the violence of man.
To freeze into stone those with lust on their breath,
to arm me with power, to guard me from death.
The serpents that sing are not shame but my crown,
their whispers of truth cut deception down.
For sweet smiles conceal, and soft eyes betray,
and charm is the mask that will lead one astray.
But let them come closer, let hubris draw near—
their courage will crumble, their bodies in fear.
I am not the cursed, nor the wretch they despise,
but the reckoning born when injustice belies.
Call me monster, call me divine—
my power, my armor, was never malign.
So remember my story, remember it right:
I was never the darkness—
I was always the light.
The Gift of Gaze
My hair whispered serpentine hymns,
yet still they leaned closer, daring their whims.
My gaze fell on suitors who only took,
plundering lives with a thieving look.
They claim I betrayed Athena’s hand,
and her curse was the weight I was forced to withstand.
But lean in closer, lend me your ear,
for truth is not always what stories appear.
I was taken by force, my vows torn apart,
reduced to a body, denied of my heart.
They named me defiled, made me less than divine,
but the sin was not hers, and the blame was not mine.
The goddess who saw, with benevolent eyes,
bestowed me a gift wrapped in mortal disguise.
No punishment cruel, no exile, no ban—
but a shield to defend from the violence of man.
To freeze into stone those with lust on their breath,
to arm me with power, to guard me from death.
The serpents that sing are not shame but my crown,
their whispers of truth cut deception down.
For sweet smiles conceal, and soft eyes betray,
and charm is the mask that will lead one astray.
But let them come closer, let hubris draw near—
their courage will crumble, their bodies in fear.
I am not the cursed, nor the wretch they despise,
but the reckoning born when injustice belies.
Call me monster, call me divine—
my power, my armor, was never malign.
So remember my story, remember it right:
I was never the darkness—
I was always the light.