Hippolytus

Hippolytus didn’t rape Phaedra.
Why did Phaedra say they did
in that letter found on her corpse?
Dewey hates her gratuitous vindictiveness,
(like their namesake, Dewey Dell’s,
when she set that barn on fire).

But Phaedra was under the spell
of Venus, who has no scruples whatsoever.
Hippolytus themselves were not
under it—that’s
what Venus was mad about. So,
Phaedra’s vengeful malice.

Why can’t Hippolytus be understood
simply as a non-cisgender
devotee of the Huntress God?
(Stevie Smith says “prig,” but, actually,
Hippolytus may have been
an Amazon with a penis.)

Because Venus won’t allow it, that’s why.
The witch!
Is it OK to call Venus a witch?.
If not, Dewey humbly and fearfully withdraws the word,
and will dedicate to Venus
an evil-averting hecatomb of feelies.

Dewey themselves are

under Venus's spell,
so they have nothing to worry about.