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Language:
English
Series:
Part 3 of Mythological Tragedies
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Published:
2023-10-06
Words:
359
Chapters:
1/1
Kudos:
4
Bookmarks:
1
Hits:
221

Medusa's Lament

Summary:

A rewrite of the lyrics to Imagine Dragon's song "Demons" to serve as a record of Medusa's thoughts and feelings after her assault by Poseidon and subsequent punishment from Athena.

She feels only hatred for herself, even though she is only a victim, and begs her Gorgon sisters to leave for fear of accidentally hurting them with her curse - thankfully they know better than to obey.

Notes:

Now, I do have to come clean and admit that I unironically like the music of Imagine Dragons - maybe some of their songs are a little overplayed, but they're popular for a reason I guess.

This is also the first of my works involving Greek mythology that explicitly involves rape - which, if you know anything about that mythological canon, is pretty impressive as nearly every story involves in at some point.
I'm not averse to discussing it as a topic, and I engage with those myths quite frequently, but I can't deny that it's mentally tiring to read stories set in a world where the inciting event is usually that a woman is brutally attacked - to engage with such a deeply misogynistic and patriarchal society, where the perpetrators of the violence are so rarely punished for their actions.

My two favourite myths - the one where Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon, and where Medea gets her revenge on Jason (both of which I've done song rewrites for previously, check them out if you're interested) - are some of the only example of stories where women get to strike back at the men who have hurt them, and I don't think it takes a genius to work out why these are my favourites!
And yes, they may be punished for it; but they have already been unfairly treated, so why not bring the bastards down with you?
As Jude Duarte, a more recent entry in the list of illustrious ethically-murky women I love, once said "If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse" - words to live by in a society where the powerful always evade justice...

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

The temple was cold
When that god was bold
Dared to rape before the statue of gold
There my cries did fail
And I ceased to flail
What was worst of all, no trial for the male

I want to veil the truth
I want sweet lies to soothe
But with the beast inside
There's nowhere I can hide
No matter what they breed
The gods are made of greed
This is their kingdom come
This is their will be done

When you feel my gaze, please avoid my eyes
It's where my dark curse hides
It's where my dark curse hides
Don't get too close, I'm ruined inside
It's where my curse still hides
It's where my curse still hides

When you feel my gaze, please avoid my eyes
It's where my dark curse hides
It's where my dark curse hides
Don't get too close, I'm ruined inside
It's where my curse still hides
It's where my curse still hides

Faced Athena's wrath
On this ordained path
I screamed in pain then, came the aftermath
Writhing snakes for hair
My talons flesh tear
One glance forms statues to bedeck my lair

Sisters, I've let you down
Now I am curse-bound
Though I'd give up all for you
I am not safe for you
No matter what they breed
The gods are made of greed
This is their kingdom come
This is their will be done

When you feel my gaze, please avoid my eyes
It's where my dark curse hides
It's where my dark curse hides
Don't get too close, I'm ruined inside
It's where my curse still hides
It's where my curse still hides

They say life's what you make
I say it's up to fate
It's woven in my soul
I have to let you go
Your hearts, they shine so bright
I want to save that light
I can't escape this life
Yet I can save you strife

When you feel my gaze, look into my eyes
It's where my curse resides
It's where my curse resides
Don't get too close, I'm ruined inside
It's where my curse resides
It's where my curse still hides

Notes:

This working of the Medusa myth - where she loves her sisters and wishes to protect them from herself - owes much to Natalie Haynes' novel Stone Blind, which I read earlier this year.
The sister relationships in it are wonderful, and she brought such interesting twists to reinvigorate a myth I've known inside and out since I was a child - so I can highly recommend her books, and the booksigning talks she does to promote them (I have tickets for the next one on the 11th and I'm really excited)!

I regret to say I am nowhere near a good enough singer to feel comfortable putting an audio version of this out too (and that Ava, who plays in a band, is way too busy being a cool yet functional adult to cover for me), which means that you can either read it as a sort of poem, or fill the music in yourself (I recommend that method, it's much better).

If you've made it this far, I just want to say thank you so much for reading this, and to express how much it means to me that you have enjoyed my work!

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