Makeda - Queen of Sheba

Makeda - Queen of Sheba

Love? No – maybe it was more of a curiosity…
A fascination with a legend.
I have had presented chiefs and princes…
The finest warriors and generals,
the richest men with the greatest lands.
I have no need to search,
But my interest has been aroused
by the tales of Wisdom.
What man is really wise?
Is there such a beast?
If so, might he be worthy of my attentions?
These days, I could be bored,
for my wealth is unsurpassed,
My lands are peaceful,
My realm is stable.
What more could a girl ask for?
I seek adventure… to travel to exotic places,
To meet interesting people…
To see this Temple of wonder
Being built for a single God!
Perhaps I will find more than sights to see?
Perhaps I will find a King worthy of a Queen?

(1 Kings 10:1-13 or 2 Chronicles 9:1)

© 2017, A.Koh-Butler

Esther

Esther

Reflected in a mirror, I see my exiled face
Who gave me over to become a wife?
A Queen my Master made me – to people not my own
While mine are slaves and foreign to this place

O Esther, how came you here?
 What will you do?
 What have you done?
 Beware!

I did not choose to be here - taken from my people - dispossessed…
I am prize of warfare – a prize to be displayed
Today I’m Queen of Persia – but silent is my role
Do I dare disobey the boundaries of my life?

 O Esther, who are you here?
Can you be given voice before your King?
Do you have words
 from another Lord?

(C) 2017, A.Koh-Butler

Jezebel

Jezebel (from 'Her foreign Majesties')

Reflected in the mirror, I wonder at my crown.
Who placed it there upon my maiden brow?
A princess of Phoenicia, so foreign to this Land
How can I live authentically in this state?

O Jezebel, how came you here?
What will you do?
What have you done?
Begone!

I did not choose to come here - sold by my tribe for peace…
I come as token gesture – a prize to be displayed
Today I’m claimed as Ahab’s queen, to mother his offspring
My body - chattel of the state – is not for me to own.

O Jezebel, who are you here?
Are you considered human?
Of are you simply of another
Man?

(C) 2017, A.Koh-Butler