Betrayal of Husbands
Medea walks home alone
for the nth time
on a Sunday afternoon,
& this time her lipstick
is two shades redder
than it usually is.
/
& Hera is up in Olympus
spilling champagne
on the tiled floor
because she can,
& it has nothing to do
with Medea.
/
& Medea walks home alone
in the wine / rain,
forgoing her umbrella
to wash away
her iron
perfume.
/
& Hera keeps spilling
the champagne, &
only Zeus doesn’t know
she’s doing it on purpose,
& Medea has everything
to do with this, & Hera is having
the time of her life,
& Aphrodite is laughing
her ugly little laugh
where she covers her mouth,
& the girls of Olympus
laugh and spill
champagne:
hating.
/
& Medea walks home alone
in the rain
& her makeup decides its time
to give up on her
her mascara turns
to Styx-River tears,
rolling down
rouged cheeks and red lips
as best as they can.
Media hasn’t cried since
she walked home alone
For the first time;
Medea hasn’t done
anything since; Medea
hasn’t know
anything since but religion
I mean
Revenge
/
& Zeus is up in Olympus
screaming at Hera,
& Hera is screaming back
& Aphrodite is
getting out of there
& still laughing
& Hera tells it
to Zeus straight:
You disgusting, wanton pig!
& Zeus laughs in her face
because he knows
she is no better than he is
& he slaps her across the face
& he orders her
to get out of his sight
& she listens
/
& Medea never bothered
to tell it to Jason straight.
/
& Zeus does whatever
he wants to, & Hera
does whatever
she needs to, & Medea
does whatever
she has to.
/
& Medea takes her knife
to her own children
& makes new lipstick.
& Medea ruins Jason’s life
& gets away with it
because that’s what he deserves,
& Hera is up in Olympus
shrieking now because
how come
she is the only one who can’t have
love or love
or resolution.
By zuyi zhao
Biography:
zuyi zhao is a 17 year old who lives in south florida, where she occasionally complains about the humidity. she has a tendency to wax poetic and often looks to mythology for inspiration. when she isn’t writing poetry, she can be found doing calculus problems. her work has been recognized by the scholastic art and writing awards, and appears in firefly.