Scheherazade’s Shame
Scheherazade is a wife of King Shahryar in One Thousand and One Nights. This poem shows another side of her that is quite the opposite of how she is portrayed in the story, a darker more dangerous side. Instead of being a patient virgin who seduces with her words, this doppelganger is a dangerously fatale woman who has seduced many men with her body.
The temptress was clad in her signature red dress, Silhouetting a young yet experienced body with which She wove passion stories that lulled me to sleep each night. A long slit exhibited legs that made my own quiver. I hated her. I hated her for incarcerating my heart inside that ebony gaze. She would waltz in each night, work her dark magic, And then take another piece of Me away with her. But she did not only belong to me – hundreds of nameless Men claimed her and had left their mark upon her flesh like Invisible scars. And she carried bits and pieces of them like Broken trophies she was not proud of. I wanted to make her pure again. I wanted to make her taste pleasure for the very first time With me between her golden-olive thighs. But like the others, my name and face would Evaporate from her memory as soon as She left my arms. The only cure for her was to forget. As always, she grabbed the money – which like her soul was crumbled and soiled – From the nightstand with downcast eyes and a tremulous sigh. Maybe one day she would have enough – Enough to buy back her purity.
The Bubblecracker Suite
Millions of tiny, amorous fish Swim-dance in my head, Offering fragile, luminescent bubbles To my cerebellum as sacrifice For my stability. But when the bubbles burst I lose balance – I fall. I see the fish when I pull Thin lid-curtains over my eyes. Flashes of floating color amid sacred bubbles, Making love to my thoughts. Fins and tails collide in frenzy – driven by Their significant duty. Solemn mouths open, close and out Form the gorgeous bubbles. Round, perfect – Pop! I wish the bubbles were indestructible.
I do not want to fall again – I dream of dancing The fish ballet and effortlessly floating Upon bubbles that don’t burst. Bubbles of graceful equilibrium. Bubbles that save me from a fatal fall.
Mahdis Marzooghian is a senior currently attending Towson University with a major in English and minors in Mass Communications and French. She loves to write whenever she gets the chance and read as many books as possible. Her ultimate dream is to write poetry and novels and get widely published. She wants to truly touch people and influence them with her writing.
