A Wish for Those Who Know Best
Persephone laments her decent into the darkness of the world Hades:
Her mirror, her sustenance, the breast to which she clung, woeful indeed.
Have no fear, you who send the blackness of your heart as a mark upon the land.
It is, after all, only temporary.
Fools, declarations made by those who have yet to encounter Moira’s contingency, so unyielding in the coldness of her heart: faultless though she may be.
Be balanced in your joy as in your grief, so say the sages of the ancient Ageans.
Balance be damned, proclaims Demeter:
Would it that I possessed the unerring arrows of Apollo, or the unforgiving thunderbolt of Zeus.
Strike them all dead, I would.
And with them the insipid notion that because tomorrow may improve that today should be better than it is.
Come to me with your optimism, with your cherished, life giving delusions,
I would remove your empty heads with one swift strike with my scythe.
Balance be damned and this day, too.
©6/23/12
Of course, the poem is, on the face of it, a retelling of the story of Demeter's (provider of harvests) angst over her daughter Persophone having been stolen by Hades as his bride. She refused to allow anything to grow, until the situation was resolved. Alas, the resolution was not exactly what a mother would wish. Hades, citing his prerogatives as one of the three "major" gods (Zeus rules the world, Posidean the sea, and Hades the underworld) to keep Persophone. Zeus, however, insists that he only have her for half the year. For the other half, she may return to the world of the living to be with her mother. Thus we have summer and spring, when Persophone is with Demeter, whereas there is fall and winter, when Demeter is mourning her daughter's absence.
On a deeper level, the poem is about depression, and particularly about those who inevitably say, "Oh, tomorrow will be better." In that case, live my today, you bastard. You have no idea, cannot to say something so insipid. The name I gave the photo is "Contemplating Doom or Happiness."
Any Feedback Welcomed
Tags
Publishing New Content
No new content from users will be allowed to be published at this time. Admin.
UnitedWorldPoets
Comments
Dam that is good. I like your explanation.
Thanks Trainman,
I like a good "damn" in an exclamatory affirmation. I thought the explanation key, as the depression aspect was more a personal statement, which I thought somewhat obtuse. What did you think prior to reading the elaboration, if you don't mind my asking? Did any of that get through? If not, I probably need to work on it.
Peace out,
Rusty
its like shared custody. I like it when you explain things. your so cute
Now that's a first, Kayla. I'm cute when I explain things. That make me smile at 20 to 5 on this Sunday morning. I like your analogy, except, of course, shared custody is generally agreed upon, or stipulated. Hades just ran off with poor Persophone, actually had an asp bite her on the heel. There is a further story behind that, but it slips my mind!
Still laughing at the cute: I way too big and brash to be "cute." Although, my Aussie friends call me cheeky, when I smile! Never heard that one until recently. But I won't object. Thanks for the support, girlie.
Have a great day!
Rusty