Take my gold and frisk my crown
Pull jewels from my neck and scrub the expensive oils from my skin
Burn the fine linens and strip me of my silks
I have no need for such trivialities.
Turn your face from me and harden your heart
Cast me out from my home, my sanctuary
I shall die in a shelter rather than a palace, but all the same,
I shall be just as dead here as there.
Lose me my birthright, my title and my throne
Change the name on the scroll of the fate I was born for
Sell your right-hand seat to the prettiest bidder
I will die knowing I would not sell out.
You, the one I held in my foolish heart so dear,
Can take away from me everything I gave you
But you cannot take the strength with which I was born, for
I represent the one virtue you cannot own.
Replace me if you must but know that I will lie in peace
Forget me if your heart allows it, but never forget
That I-- the woman who dares defy the king--
I hold more power in my will than you have in your court.
Esther 1:2-21
