That Scheherazade Survives Doesn’t Mean She’s Free

Stories are coin and coin
The currencies they are,
The first commodity.

Offer me a story
About what interests me,
I’ll give you something back—

Attention, food, sex, more
Stories for you to swap.
Fungibility’s born

From the head of story.
Anyone suspicious,
Anyone weak is forced

To give up their stories
As proof of what they’re worth,
To repeat their stories

Until they’re dead, or killed,
Or their stories get through,
Or stories let them through.