Greek Mythology

Seduced By Zeus

hercules, pereseus, hermes, apollo
zeus had baby mamas like toyota hondas
he did them in the morning
and did them in the night
zeus was horny all the time
but what woman could give up the chance
of having a baby with divine heritage,
so all the women spread their legs for zeus
he knew how to make a woman
feel like a woman

Bump

Bump again.

we were never Gods

hollow are thy chambers.
echoes of life and death  
resonate in the static of each.  

this lighthouse
this revolver  
mine heart.  

all awaiting their partner for validation  

the watchman
a bullet
your love.

i sit on this eve in my tower
looking over the bay I've safely guided your vessel through  
so that I might hold you again.  

i stay anchored so that you might roam and explore as the Phoenicians did.  

but now you've sent me a message with our sweet Mercury.

[remember when we found him  
a baby fallen from his nest  
we nursed him
loved him
taught him to scurry the telephone line
between our house and my tower
to send notes to one another]

You tell me ...  

winds no longer billow  
deadening the lateen  
yet i must go

Mercury dashes back.

chain me in the gallows then
that i might grip your oars
hardened for a mere kiss

steel messenger in steel chamber
spin
temple
pull
click!

Mercury returns.  

you've made me an overseer
yet my lashes shed only tears
forgive me not

steel messenger in steel chamber
spin
temple
pull
click!

Here sweet Mercury  
a peanut  
now take this to daddy.

no quarter will be given
nor asked for I have swallowed every drop of your humiliation

you have the seas Poseidon
guide them with your light
so I might slip in darkness

you spoke Venus' three most sacred words  
languid gales i now see

steel messenger in steel chamber
spin
temple
pull

...

The Jackals Feast
 
Foolish was Hippomenes when he did  
not  pay tribute to Venus for  
capturing the heart of the mesmerizing Atalanta
He should have known better  
Men died in pursuit of her beauty  
 
It was their star crossed love  
that binds  my fortune in the vengeance of Venus
For the two were cast out as lions  
Forever damned for tempting Fate  
 
My sign,  Leo, cursed and plagued  
to wear a hollow crown  
In a kingdom where I must do battle
With light footed jackals and crooked neck vultures
Who gladly wait to separate my flesh from bone and scream,  
 
"Here lies your king!"  
 
Sign of the sun  
I sought fluid petals to soothe
my scorched soul
My tawny coat and browned mane
Testament to my desert odyssey  
Without relief nor contentment  
 
Then the maiden came, the Aquarian
She bore a small vessel of water
She poured so that I might drink
Without question  
So that I might live  
With new conviction  
 
I led her to a bed of desert blooms
Five imperfect pulsating petals pirouetting off their stems that kissed her skin  
One by one  
She's seduced and intoxicated by the fragrant sun bathed roses  
 
Without hesitation she lets her tunic fall before me  
My growl is guttural  
I happily take her gift as a sign  
 
We're enthralled by the bliss of our own Eden  
Drunk in the vineyards of Bacchus
 
Now ruptured by the cackles and caws of jackals and hyenas
Blood has been spilled  
And they mean to feast too  
 

[b]When She Returns (Her Coming For Me)

The Greek myth says
Ceres awaits the return of her beloved daughter Proserpina
So she can color the world in lilac and iris
The gold of black eyed Susans and the harvest to come
My power to change the world by no means bares comparison
But my desire and need of you runs just as deep
You complete me in ways I didn't know possible
Blossoms do unfurl when I'm in your presence
Fields of ecstasy explode like untamed lilies
Outstretched towards the sun
then slowly sinking towards the fertile soil
that first gave them birth
And just as it seems it all will sink and swoon
To forever disappear
A gentle touch
A soft breeze
An unspoken word
Gives new meaning for yet another explosion
That reaffirms life
Reaffirms love
Bask in it now we're told
For the dark hand of Hades will beckon
And my beloved will have to return to his kingdom
She knows her duty in that world
But while she is gone I can shed no light in mine
Neither of us really suffer we merely endure
Until we can share the smell of lilacs and iris that linger with her coming

Koinage izza godd

Zoose wuzza
powherfull godd.
He rulled da roost uvda
entyer heavunz.
Dat's sum sereeus powher.
Imaginn if catphish had
dat kinduv powher.
He wuld own hiz own strypp joint.
Den he'd bee myteeher den zoos.
Fer sure he'd have
moor nickullz den zoose.
Dat'z duh definisheon uv reel powher.
Da keaper ufduh koinage.

Less than a day left. Any last minute entries?

                     

http://www.peplums.info/images/00cour/cour33d.jpg

Song of Briseis

The glistening-bodied men of Troy
are fighting behind my eyes. My love
for Achilles is fierce as he is arrogant;
no gentle sands nor lingering suns
wait for me, not before this end.

I sip the wounded nectar of his kisses
all throughout the stretching hours;
the aromatic liqueur of his ankles
perfumes my petals of lips.
Look up, Briseis, he says.
Clouds are candles and roses.

In my head roils a disgust for blood
unless it is beneath my nails gone clawing
down the golden rivers of his back.
In between gulps of stars I swallow
darkness at the base of the earth,
cool winds strumming dry guitars
and terrifying words that summarize
a thousand painful glances
across the sting of salt sprays.

(On Achilles and Briseis)

Congrats to the winner and the runner ups. It was a close one. Kou_Indigo and Jadeth's collaberation was really good as well as many others. I really enjoyed reading Minerva's poem about Icarus.

Congrats! to Mourning Cloak ... This was an interesting comp with varied takes on some of the most enduring stories known.  Many thanks to the host, Levi.

thanks for the nod, levi! i enjoyed this competition very much. congrats to mourning cloak and CeeJay!