Vashti
Once a queen until
ordered to appear wearing
her crown.
Only her crown.
Long before me too.
Long before this sort of behavior
was normalized in film,
culture, the workplace.
Vashti said no.
She was dismissed which
almost seems kind
considering people were
executed left and right
back in this day.
How about the banquet she held
in which everyone
kept their clothes on?
And was her great great great
great great great grandfather
(Exact number of greats not verified)
the one who destroyed the temple?
These are the stories we tell each other
as we wonder what to think
about Vashti.