Bathsheba - She Asked for It

“She asked for it,”
they would say nowadays.
Bare back brilliant, exposed
to the heavens above her,
her fault that she is beautiful.

Bathsheba—
if you could, what would you ask for?

For a fruit as sweet as knowledge itself
For one last look at a city’s destruction
For a child to succor your secondhand status
For entry into the Promised Land
For protection for your family in a time of war
For protection of your people when the state turns against them
For the head of a man on a silver platter
For your brother or sister to breathe once more

For a space of your own on a flat roof a mile above the city.