Why is it women bear the blame?
Eve, in the garden of Eden
picked fruit from that forbidden tree.
With juice dripping down her chin,
she offered its flesh to Adam.
Adam took the bite, yet bears little blame.
Persephone, stolen away by Hades,
hungers for light in the underworld.
Eats six pomegranate seeds
only to learn she, not Hades,
bears the blame
for autumn and winter’s chill.
Who writes these tales?
Codifies them into myths believed?
Ah men, they are the shapeshifters.
I call on thee to reposition these stories,
reveal the weakness of Adam
the cunning treachery of Hades.
Take up the flowers, the scepter too.
Power in the womb, provider of the world.
Power in the breast, nourishment for all.
Power in the mind, our acuity revealed.
I call on you, deny your herstory no longer.
Claim your rightful place at the table,
and it’s not in the middle of the men.
Written for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets, where today Sarah asks us to be inspired by the myth of Persephone and write a poem that is somehow related .
Persephone is the daughter of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, fruit and grains. She was kidnapped by Hades and taken to the underworld. Ceres searched for her, leaving the crops to fail. Zeus, king of gods and father to Persephone, intervened and ruled that if Persephone had not eaten anything in the underworld, she could return to Ceres, above ground. Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds. Zeus consequently allowed her to return above ground for only six months of the year, thus creating the seasons. She is above ground for spring and summer, spreading flowers and seeds. She is below ground for autumn and winter, thus causing the demise of crops, flowers, etc. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
lillian the home poet 
I absolutely love, love, love this! Such a gorgeously composed poem depicting the many trials and tribulations women go through. Especially like; “Eats six pomegranate seeds only to learn she, not Hades, bears the blame for autumn and winter’s chill.” I say bury him beneath the snow! 💝💝
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad you enjoyed! LOVE your feisty reply!
LikeLike
It looks like you also have some reservations about the myth and how it plays out, Lillian. I see every poem so far on the trail has reservations about it. I agree with you 100%. Fairy tales/myths/etc. are cultural indoctrination for the time they were written in. It’s about time these tales are re-written. Actually I think some have done just that but have no titles or authors to share.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We do agree indeed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
‘Why is it women bear the blame?’ – because men wrote the history and the poems…until now! So glad we’re finding our voices and reclaiming our rightful place again 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I took a course in grad school on women’s herstory…..so MUCH there!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this so much! The righteous anger and then the glorious last verse. I can recommend “Pandora’s Jar” as a great look at how women have been maligned in myth.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed, Sarah! Will definitely look that up.
LikeLike
So well said! I honestly did not see the common pattern through these stories with women bearing the blame until now. That’s honestly disturbing since it distorts the truth of these characters/people and their situations, but sadly it shows who wrote them this way. It does reveal the time they were in too, but at least we always have retellings now. 😀 Beautifully and powerfully written.
LikeLike
Thank you Lucy. Your response means a lot to me. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wondered at the source of them all, too. You took a scholarly approach, and mine is more a spoof. I enjoyed yours very much!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed yours too! 🙂
LikeLike
All so true, Lillian! Excellent. I think it’s because men have feared women’s power.
I wonder if Eve’s fruit was a pomegranate, too?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah yes….there is power in every woman….we do, after all, people the earth. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
😀
LikeLike
I completely agree with you, Lillian – one question – what do you mean by “in the middle of the men”? That line caught me off-guard!
❤
David
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sit at the head of the table, not in the midst of all the men😊. Be seen and be heard. Assert yourself. Or as the saying goes, lean in.
LikeLike
Love it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad! Good to see you here 😉
LikeLike
Here’s A Little Secret
That Should Be
Obvious Now
“Incels” Wrote
The Bible Became
Priests And Popes
And Still Spend
Their
Time on
Reddit As
Losers Complaining
About Women…
Note: On The
Other Hand
There Are
Literally
Thousands
Of Women
SMiling
In My
Bible
i Use A
Different
Approach
LoVE ReaL
Beyond
All Myths
Love Not Afraid
To Be Equally
Man
And
WoMaN
AS HuWoMaN…🪴
One Plant One
Fertilizer
One Star
One Dance
SonG LoVE
In General Dudes
Hate me… Go Figure🌟🎶 🎼
LikeLiked by 1 person
Always love your responses! So good to see you here today!
LikeLiked by 1 person
SMiles Lillian… Yes
Always A Pleasure
To Stop By Hope
All Is
Well
Safe
And
Happy For
You In Boston
Dear FRiEnD
In These Extremely
Interesting Days
Hehe Do Wish
Me Luck In
The Boiling
Point Now
Of Northwest
Florida Pandemic
Ignorance Yet True
My Wings Are Well
Adjusted
To Rise
Out of Fires
Beyond What
Most Folks Will
Imagine Backwards Here🔥
LikeLike
I tell my husband all the time that a wive’s wedding vows are to “love, honour, and take blame”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You made me smile!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I call on you, deny your herstory no longer.
Claim your rightful place at the table,
Love your call for women’s power to rewrite HIStory to HERstory. A clever twist never realised by many. A strong write Lillian!
Hank
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Hank!
LikeLike
Words were created to bind the Goddess, myths to feed her breath to the kiln.
LikeLike
Glad you enjoyed the post, Brendan.
LikeLike
Well put. The modern legacy of ancient tales is millennia of reinforcement of gendered values.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yeah – I so agree.
LikeLike
Wonderful! Well said!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad you enjoyed!
LikeLiked by 1 person