living mythologies

i.
when I was a child they first called me medusa when
we learned about her. my hair had a mind of its own
and they laughed, they pointed, they said it must be
snakes, i must be this woman in a child’s body, my
serpents all tangled upon each other, fangs seeping.
i told them, i turned around and told ‘em how it goes,
how she turns everyone to stone and they all became
quiet and still, like stone i thought to myself, and it made
me smile, and my serpents smiled as well, their venom
pumping in me and i swear, it’s the first time i truly felt
my heart beating, knocking to break down my ribcage.