Sometime in January, tired of winter and anxious for spring, I started working on a re-telling of the myth of Persephone’s abduction to and return from the underworld. I posted what I thought was the completed version a few weeks ago, but after a long critique with a friend I’ve rewritten major portions. I’m not ready to post the whole piece just yet, but here are two new sections that replace the play in the previous post.
The Emissary
Things go wrong.
and every family
needs a fixer,
even in the hidden world,
perhaps,
especially,
in the hidden world.
Hermes
shifts
like light
here and there
as much an echo
as a presence.
Hermes
Deceiver
Dissembler
Counselor to the Counselors
Guard of the Crossroads
Protector of Thieves
Companion of the Dead
pays the boatman
and on this occasion
torments the dog
by shifting in and out of view
until each of its heads
lunge
in a different direction
and it stands
three mouths snarling
straining against itself
frozen in place.
Even the boatman
who has seen everything
and laughs at nothing
is amused.
Hermes
winks at the boatman
and goes about the business
Zeus has ordained.
The Prince of Thieves
also the Master of Dreams
what better place
to spin illusion
than the flat lands
of Hades’ dark kingdom
where dreams
can hold more
substance
than a palace.
Night
Hades slept
and dreamt.
In his dream
he and the Girl
took their places
hand in hand
while the shades
bowed
before their sovereigns
and feasted
on dark fruit.
Hermes
in his minstrel guise
played his lyre
unwound a song
of darkness lifted
cold restrained
and blessed light.
For the first time
the dark kingdom
was warm
and ancient Hades’
rest
had depth.
Persephone slept
and dreamt.
In her dream
she sat
with
Hermes
in his craftsman’s guise
and watched as he
used his thumbnail
to carve her likeness
into a hard-shelled fruit.
He offered it to her
as she cupped her hands
to receive the gift
three
moist
and shining
seeds
hovered
before her.
She snatched them
each
from air
and ate.
When they awoke
Hades stood in the bone-cracking cold
and called for Persephone…
When they awoke
the boatman had been paid
and the Girl
wondering at the strange taste
on her tongue
took her trailing hand from the river
and drank.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
