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Between the Apple and the Bite
Poems about Women's Predicaments in History and Mythology
Sue Woodward
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eBook - ePub
Between the Apple and the Bite
Poems about Women's Predicaments in History and Mythology
Sue Woodward
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About This Book
The poems in 'predicaments' explore women's responses to the constraints and consequences of choices they have made. Their responses are not much changed through the millennia of myth, history and into contemporary times. The poet reflects on significant moments in the lives of women such as Helen of Troy, Delilah and Joan of Arc, and the predicaments they are faced with in a man's world.
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II
delilah
I have you this time
no more teasing
with ropes and riddles
your head
is heavy in my lap
my song a lullaby
from a land beyond
the lake, my fingers
a comb to smooth
your tangled mane
black as night, shot
through with trails
of silver, your pelt
the soft sand
of the desert at dawn
your eyelids flutter
your breathing
steadies, I signal
for the maid to bring
the blades
she does not understand
my love-hate
stroking of your curls
this need for power
I am chosen for this
the chosen have no choice
careful not to tug
I hack
you do not wake
delilah
The story of Samson and Delilah comes from the Old Testament. Samson had enormous strength. As a young man, he killed a lion with his bare hands. He fell in love with Delilah, whom the Philistines bribed to tell them the secret of Samsonâs strength. Delilah pleaded with Samson to tell her his secret, but Samson gave her false ways to contain him, such as tying him up with his own locks. Delilah tried all of his remedies but none of them worked, and eventually he gave in and told her the secret â âIf I be shaven then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak and be like any other manâ.
Source: Judges 16
salome
I am to choose a reward
for my dancing, I think
of perfume, gold bangles
to my elbow, a mud bath
from jordan, dragon robe
of silk, a falcon, a lute,
an ivory fanâŚ
mama has a different idea
she whispers in my ear
her words drop like stones
to my belly, she forgets
that when a gecko falls
I pick it up, carry its
translucent body carefully
to the courtyard, watch it climb
hand over hand to the safety
of the jasmineâŚ
now I am chosen to bear
a heavier weightâŚ
a manâs head on a silver plate
a reward for my dancing
salome
Salome was the daughter of Herodias and the stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. John the Baptist angered Herodias by disapproving of her marriage to Herod. Herod imprisoned John the Baptist but was afraid to execute him, which Herodias wanted him to do, because John the Baptist was popular with the people. When Salome pleased Herod by her dancing, he promised her anything she wanted, and prompted by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist.
Source: Matthew 14.1 â 14.12
judith
the powers of my sex
an angle of chin, a toss
of hair, an imperceptible
swing of the hips, a flash
of flesh, a widening of eyes
are an insult to me
you are a fool to fall
for these things and not
the complexities of my mind
my gift for language
joy at a shaft of sunlight
penetrating to the depths
of the forest
I am not a woman desperate
for the rasp of a manâs beard
on my cheek, I grip
the sword, give the nod
the servant holds your head
I close my eyes
strike with both hands
surprisingly
it is done
judith
The Book of Judith is in the Apochrypha. It tells the story of the beautiful widow, Judith, who, accompanied by a servant, bravely gains entry into the enemy camp of Holofernes, an Assyrian invading general, to seduce and kill him. She gains his trust, and one night when he is drunk, she decapitates him and takes his head back to her countrymen. The invading Assyrians, having lost their leader, disperse, and Judithâs people, the Israelites, are freed from oppression.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book-of-Judith/
mary then
at fourteen, with limited options
I was betrothed, after the vision
my belly swelled, I expected
a beating, the old man said only
we must go from here
the confinement was less than adequate
the packing up, fleeing, hiding, an ordeal
much later when I lost my son
I understood my body was a vehicle
my discomforts irrelevant
mary now
my eggs extracted and frozen
they nestle in liquid nitrogen
in a sterile facility
at the optimal time
I will select sperm
donor unknown
for race, intelligence, gender
and start the procedure
it will be an immaculate conception
a caesarean birth
I will be a virgin mother
mary then and mary now
Mary, the m...