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| Esther touches the golden sceptre. |
The full moon throws long shadows of Esther
kneeling in front of her husband the king.
This could be her last day alive. If he
won't lift his golden scepter to save her.
His ministers see fear in her trembling,
but she swallows as much anger as fear.
Is it so rare for kings to overlook
disobedience?
For queens to transgress?
She’ll grovel to save her people. She’ll give
up her dignity to obtain justice—
much more important than equality—
at least today—in this exigency.
She hides her pride in the full moon shadow
ready to play the part her people ask.
They give her little in return. For them
she hid her faith, left her friends, married.
She speaks.
Come to my rooms and dine with me.
Come and listen. Dismantle plots. Bury
weapons or give them to everyone.
Imbalance of power makes us weave webs.
Understand, I will kneel, will stand, will
speak
for you as well as they—for me, for we.
Understand, hidden in full moon shadow
is an Esther who wants the right to live.
For Sumana's prompt:
Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Carpe Diem / Seize the Day
My blog poems are rough drafts.
Please respect my copyright.
© 2018 Susan L. Chast
I love stories of those who speak out against the imbalance of power - like the young people in Florida right now - because they want nothing more than the right to live. A wonderful poem.
ReplyDeleteNow I've bookmarked the wikipage to read the whole story... fascinating.
ReplyDeleteBrave Esther. Sadly greed rules these days as the world is slowly being destroyed. I think we need another Esther to stand up. What a relevant poem you have written here Susan.
ReplyDeleteThe right to live triumphs all others.. off to read the story
ReplyDeleteThanks for your links Susan. Read the story and love how you've made everything of past culture so relevant. That Time still continues. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI love how you'e written this story and the message it brings. Thanks for the link. I must read it.
ReplyDeleteImbalance of power makes us weave webs... so true
ReplyDeleteLove this fascinating and relevant retelling of Esther's story. Impressive!
ReplyDeleteI love the story of Esther. In fact, we are reading the book in our Bible study at present. And going to a church where they celebrate Purim on Sunday. I like how you wove this tale really.
ReplyDelete