“But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command” (Esther 1.12)
And somewhere, Vashti,
you are dancing,
far from a drunken feast,
far from the golden cage of palace mirrors.
Your dance is not dictated,
your beauty is not sold,
you pick your own music,
choreograph your own steps.
Taunting tyranny,
you escape the grasp of a foolish king
who tried to capture your dance,
to imprison your beauty.
You leap toward freedom.