Jessica Windisch, Poet

Artist - Rebecca Pantin


The Fairer Sex

Low hanging fruit teases the eye,
manufactured by Discord only
for the Fairest.

Like Helen, whisked away to Paris,
we are homesick – those of us punished
for the Fairest.

Mirror, mirror watch her fall when her
whale-bone-crushed ribs fail to hold
on the broken spine of a well-spent mule.
Organs welded together for 18-inch waists – the pain
might be worth it to be deemed by him
the Fairest.

An hour-glass figure and a silent tongue,
a lady in her place is a desirable one.
That old bitter-tasting apple might rot if not
for the Fairest.

Your flesh is the sin of the ages,
sear it off at the stake for crimes
of education, flirtation, menstruation.
Pain is best received if you bear it.
We bear it bare naked, dragged by the ankles
through town, adulterous examples
of the Fairest.

But when Paris took the gift –
summoner of a thousand ships,
did he know the consequences
for the Fairest?

They’ve bought us and sold us and given us
as gifts – we’ve been war-spoils even,
beasts of burden, trophy wives.
Anything and all things
but stripped of our pride
in this futile quest to claim
the Fairest.

Rebecca Pantin.  Measures approx. 24" high and base is approx. 30" x 24".   Link here to see process photos.