Harp On

Written, styled, and photographed by Audrey Kemp
Model: Taylor Wise

We have encountered her before,

The femme fatale from myth and lore --

The emblematic minx or tease,

Who conjures chaos in the breeze.

The fate of gorgons is the same:

A woman scorned, easy to blame.

But to discern what sirens seek,

One must look past their plume and beak.

Consider, first, her wailing cry:

Which beckons every passerby --

To navigate the latitude,

And doldrums of her solitude.

Peals of thunder, so beguiling,

She harps on, though seldom smiling;

Her bellows fall on ears nearby,

Yet tragedy is always nigh.

Consider, next, her form, her flesh:

A cursed amalgam, so grotesque --

But female frames are often feared,

And scrutinized, seldom revered.

So sing, O muse, and let her be,

In her domain, the sounding sea.

Harp on, shriek on, and howl and caw;

Her fortitude inspires awe.