Atalanta in spandex

What if Atalanta was born a male

and her daddy didn’t leave her on a mountain to die

What if she hated her father

and didn’t need a man to feel empowered

What if she wore Spandex to intimidate her suitors

because her lady parts were bigger than tiny Greek penises on marble statues

What if all she craved was a clever man

with golden apples to lay at her feet

What if she was intersexed or lesbian

or didn’t care about gender norms

Or maybe it was a phase she was going through

or maybe she really didn’t care about any of this

Or maybe, just maybe she wasn’t ready

to surrender her freedom and disappear into domestic servitude

7-11-23