To the Memory of My Mom, Beverly Ann Smith: Persephone

Persephone

To my delight and too my pain,

I hear her laughter echo near;

Though muffled by the veil of time, 

It comes obscured, yet still I hear. 

The chords are faint, yet still resound, 

And overwhelm my listless state, 

Til all at once my heart gives way 

To joy and grief that will not wait. 

Oh would that I could reach my hand 

Through that thick darkness we call death, 

And draw her out to me again, 

Restoring laughter and her breath.

But mortals may not thus retrieve

The ones we’ve lost, who’ve gone before, 

And so, to hear her laughter clear, 

I’ll have to pass through Hades’ door.

—jwm

Of the Poem Stanza Type: Quatrain Meter: Eight lines per stanza (i.e. tetrameter) 

Rhyme Scheme: xaxa xbxb xcxc xdxd (where ‘x’ represents unrhymed lines) 

Composition: April – May 2016  In Greek mythology Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Demeter loved Persephone so much and cared for her innocence that she was exceedingly protective of her and utterly opposed to allowing her into marriage, believing any possible suitors to be unworthy of her. Hades, who loved Persephone, was well aware that Demeter would certainly deny him her hand.  One day, as Persephone was gathering flowers in the meadows of Enna, a jagged fissure ripped the earth wide open and Hades emerged out of the twisting and rumbling. Seizing Persephone, Hades descended with her instantly into the Underworld—the fissure closing behind them. The event occurred so quickly that even those who were gathering flowers nearby did not notice Persephone was missing.  Demeter was beside herself and writhed in despair upon the discovery of Persephone’s abduction. Crippled by agony, Demeter neglected her supervision as goddess of fertility and harvest and the earth began to reel in degeneration- crops began to fail, fruits and all manner of nourishment began to dry up and wither away, people and animals began to perish beneath the growing famine, along with countless other miseries. Hearing the cries below Mount Olympus, Zeus confronts Hades and persuades him to release Persephone from his bonds, but not before Hades tricks her into tasting a few pomegranate seeds—fruit of the Underworld, of which those who partake are filled with an overwhelming desire to stay in the Underworld.  Restored to her relieved mother, Persephone expresses a desire to return to Hades and this, of course, infuriates Demeter. Demeter threatens to let the earth perish if Persephone leaves her side. A compromise was ultimately made: Persephone is permitted to spend a given duration with Hades below, and a given duration with Demeter above.  It is said that for this reason, when Persephone abides with Hades, autumn strips trees bare and winter ravages the land—this as a result of Demeter’s indignation; and that when Persephone is with Demeter, spring’s vitality returns and summer feeds the earth with warmth and light.  That is one way of telling Persephone’s story. Inasmuch as the poem Persephone is concerned, I wanted to imagine the agony and sorrow Demeter felt upon the discovery of Persephone’s abduction by Hades (represented by death in the poem) and imagine beyond the crippling grief the inexplicable joy she must have felt upon being reunited with her daughter.  Persephone is dedicated to the memory of my mom, Beverly Ann Smith, who died October 3rd, 2015. Like Demeter, my heart perpetually writhes in crippling pain at her departure. Memories of her sustain me from despair: her angel-voice, her beautiful face, her unique and punctuated laughter, her love for me. Unlike Demeter, however, I am unable to call her back from the other side of that dark veil, and so my inexplicable joy awaits me on the other side, where I will see her again.

To the memory of my mom ...

Ulysses and Calypso: by Edward Robeson Taylor

Ulysses and Calypso

For that they slew the cattle of the Sun

Ulysses’ comrades sank to death while he,

Borne on the billows of the friendly sea,

Calypso’s lovely isle in safety won;

Where filled with soothing rest his days did run

To murmous music’s luring notes as she

Bound him in coils of such captivity,

But that for Zeus his soul had been undone.

The God’s decree the enamored nymph obeyed,

And helped the hero as his raft he made,

While brimmed her heart with desolation’s tears.

His glimmering sail she watched till in the sea’s

Great void ‘twas lost, then moaned because her years

Were not as mortal as Penelope’s. 

Of the Poem

Wow! That is an excellent and powerful poem on many levels. Edward Robeson Taylor did an amazing job capturing the feeling behind this myth and used wonderful imagery from Homer’s classic read, the Odyssey. The story and that last line, man! What a read. And the structure of the poem—believe it or not, this is a widely unacknowledged sonnet form, and Taylor makes great use of it in a significant amount of his works. We will touch on this in another post, but for now, about the poem.

The poet Homer—whether this is an individual or a collective of individuals is an entirely different blog post—is said to have written two major epic poems: the Iliad and the Odyssey. 

The Iliad is about the ten-year siege of the city Troy and the war between the Trojans and Achaeans (Greeks). This war is well known to have been provoked by the ‘abduction’ of Helen by Paris, prince of Troy. It is a wonderful classic and an intense read (totally recommend). 

The Odyssey immediately follows the fall of Troy and is about Ulysses (Odysseus), the king of Ithaca, and his arduous ten-year journey home. The stories of his journey and the crazy events told are many, but for the sake of time and to prevent the temptation of tangents, let us stick with a brief outline that puts Taylor’s poem into some context. 

Because the Trojan war lasted ten-years, and because it took Ulysses ten-years to get back home (you can do the math), by the time he arrived it had been long assumed that Ulysses perished in the war with the Trojans. Because of this, many suitors desiring kingship competed eagerly for the hand of Ulysses’ wife, Penelope. Ulysses was quite aware that he needed to get back to his wife and let her know he is still alive, and still king.

Sailing on his way back, Ulysses and his exhausted crew land on the island of the sun god Helios. When Ulysses fell asleep his men, starving as well as exhausted, fell upon the cattle of the sun god and ate them. Retribution for this act came as they all took sail again: Zeus sends a thunderbolt down utterly destroying their ship. Because “they slew the cattle of the Sun / Ulysses’ comrades sank to death”, while he (Ulysses) won safety on “Calypso’s lovely isle”.

The goddess Calypso, so beautiful that even the gods swoon over the sight of her, finds herself irresistibly enamored by Ulysses—so much so that she prevents him from leaving the celestial paradise of her island: 

To murmous music’s luring notes as she

Bound him in coils of such captivity

Ulysses is stuck there for seven years, and may have been hopelessly stuck there for the rest of his mortal days had Zeus not intervened by sending Hermes to Calypso demanding our stranded hero’s release. As much as she loved Ulysses, Calypso was forced to comply.

But that for Zeus [Ulysses’] soul [would have] been undone

The God’s decree the enamored nymph obeyed

Calypso then helps Ulysses “as his raft he made / While brimmed her heart with desolation’s tears.”

It is only latently implied in the final line of the poem, but before Calypso helps Ulysses build a raft to sail away on, she offers our hero immortality and a life in eternal paradise if only he would choose to stay with her. By the end of the poem his answer to her is an obvious one. 

The poem concludes with Ulysses’ raft disappearing over the horizon of the “sea’s Great void”,  and with our goddess mourning and wishing herself to be mortal like Penelope—ultimately wishing herself dead—than to live eternally without him who she so loved. 

His glimmering sail she watched till in the sea’s

Great void ‘twas lost, then moaned because her years

Were not as mortal as Penelope’s.

Yes! Wonderful subject, excellent write, and enjoyable read. I sometimes wish I could speak with some of these poets of the past and ask what inspired this or that particular topic of the poem, or why they chose the poem’s perspective to be from this or that particular person’s. Notwithstanding, what a great poem. Now, about this poem being an unacknowledged sonnet form, suffice it to say (in this particular post) that Taylor's poem is a sonnet, and that that widely unacknowledged form is the creative byproduct of brilliant French poets. I will dedicate a thorough post to this fact in days to come. Meanwhile, I would love to know what you think of Tayor's poem. Have you ever hear of Edward Robeson Taylor? If so, do you have a particular poem of his you really enjoyed? Or, even better, have you ever written a sonnet based on mythology, or recommend one? I would love to read it if you have, or hear your thoughts with regard to this post. I will do my best to respond to each comment.