by Stanley Wilkin
They attacked her in mid exploration
Cutting away her golden thoughts
As they cut away her flesh, destroying
A mind that they couldn’t destroy in
Debate, a sparkling old woman
Whose thoughts were spun from steel.
The screaming mob desecrated her tiny form
Dragging it into the dust, through the rubbish
And shit. Tearing off her clothes
The Parabalani exposed her to celestial winds crossing
The arora, rubbing
Spoilt Alexandrian soil into her unexplored vagina.
She did not die as a philosopher, calculating and
Learning, but, torn apart, the old woman
Screamed out for her father,
Terrified, in sacrificial pain so much worse
Than beheadings and crucifixion. Her modesty,
Kept for 60 years, mutilated by a 1000 killers in a single
Minute.
Her head bounced in the forum,
Her arms thrown to the 4 corners,
Her soul stamped into the gutter,
As the new religion cried out for tolerance.
In a morning thinking became forbidden
Books burnt, laughs ignored and fires built for heretics.
Hypatia was a female philosopher in Alexandria in the 4th century who was torn apart by a Christian mob, her skin scraped from her bones.
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ABOUT THE POET ~
Stanley Wilkin is an academic who does extensive research work and lectures in London colleges. He has published poetry in a number of magazines. Recently, he has published several papers under the heading of 'An Unusual Power', the rise and influence of the medical profession. He is a trained psychotherapist and actor.
Last updated January 03, 2018