Dear Poseidon
Poem by Neve M.
5th-8th GRADE FINALIST FOR SPRING 2024 POETRY CONTEST. Prompt: All submissions must be in the form of an epistolary poem. An epistolary poem is a poem that reads as a letter to any person, place, or thing. As poems of direct address, they can be intimate and colloquial, or formal and measured. The subject matter can range from philosophical investigation to a declaration of love to a list of errands, and epistles can take any form, from heroic couplets to free verse. Your poem must be between 150 and 300 words.
Poseidon,
I thank you.
I know just who I am
because
of
you.
My hair was everything
snaking down my back
in copper hues
waved
pristine and smooth
without fuss.
My skin was lovely
umber
honey in a cup of
something
soothing
and
warm.
My heart was whole
vibrant
a
novel with pages and
pages
and
pages
of secrets.
My eyes were stunning
gradients of moss
two emeralds
thrown into a well.
Now my hair
violent tendrils
scaly
venomous
and viridescent.
My heart
splintered
fractured
into shards
measurable
by the amount of hate
within it.
My eyes
serpentine
ticking bombs
exploding
at a glance.
The spiteful goddess of wisdom
sat on her throne
her gaze
belittling me -
just a naïve mortal girl
unworthy of a god’s
love.
My allure
replaced
by a
monster.
My pulse raced
my skin burned
my blood boiled
and
I
felt unwanted
and ugly.
You
made me feel that
way.
You
Made
Me
Despise
Myself
I thank you for that.
In a
hall of mirrors
staring
at
me
are lost souls.
Kindred or not
their hearts
bleed
identically to mine.
When glass breaks
does it know pain?
When the world turns
does it long
for a corner of universe
in permanence?
Would time stop
if it knew it was killing us all slowly?
Blinded, I trembled in front of a mirror
And prepared to open my eyes.
I never did.
Now I am whole.
I have transformed.
I
am a serpent demigoddess
with a gaze that petrifies and a heart that’s broken.
That is maliciously useful,
Isn’t it?
Liar, deceptor
Thank you for
Showing me
Who
I
Can be.
I pity you, immortal god,
That you must sit on your throne
Of forgery
Facing the aftermath of
Angering
A
Sea
Witch.
Xoxo, Medusa
