"Scheherazade," by Richard Siken.
Here is the Wikipedia entry on the story of Scheherazade that this poem alludes to. Do you see any connection? What is the purpose of the allusion, here?
Are these the kind of stories you think the original Scheherazade was telling the king? What is different? What does that suggest about how we have changed, or about the state of mind of the person narrating this poem?
The wikipedia page says that the king would change his wife every day just in case she cheated. However, one of his wifes would tell him a story every night so he wouldn't have her killed. I see a connection. In the poem, it jumps from one subject to another every two lines. It's wierd, but it gets your attention just like the wife's stories.
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