Helena

They lay down their arms to worship the night. Then shun the light of day.

 

Looking at you, one man might say Is like seeing Homer within the light of day For yours was the face that launched a thousand ships Your Honor would lead their way By your heart they all would be judged Your likeness shown in the evening light Love of you beckoned them come what may They followed your stars and never lost sight Men laid down their arms to worship the night Then shunned the light of day   Tate

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Reviews

[Manie]

This is really a beautiful poem about Helen, the princess whose beauty started that ancient war. I love the way the rhythm sort of changed (or shall I say the one's heartbeat) as the poem progresses. The poem starts out slowly, one expecting it to be a typical love poem for a lady called "Helena". But then "Homer" is metioned and I start to wonder where this is going. Then we read that famous old quote about the face that "launched a thousand ships" and my heart starts to beat at a different rate as I'm visually taken back to Troy at a time of war.

I could almost hear hear the beat of drums and the cry for war. I see those thousand ships at sea, men armed and ready for war, "come what may". All for the love of a woman. Then it gets quiet - "Men laid down their arms to worship the night". One is sort of relieved at this image and the drumbeat stops. But then, SUDDENLY, the drums beat faster then before, and the battle begins "at light of day". Well, that's what I saw :-)

I loved your ending, because even after the last line is read, the reader is still left with a lot of thought. I'm pretty sure that they could use this as an introduction, read by a narrater, to a movie or play about the "Trojan Wars". It sets a nice mood. "Then shunned the light of day...", and as those words end, the next act is played out... the start of the Trojan War...

There is also a line in the middle "...by your heart they all would be judged...", which makes one think. Was the death of thousands of men worth it? Can love be so strong, can beauty be so enticing, that a king would risk his army for it?

Well, these are only my interpretations and thoughts.

Great poem with some beautiful lines and visual imagery that takes us back to ancient greece (or to greek mythology as some would prefer). As a lover of history and mythology I give it 10/10!

[John Phoenix Hutchinson..]

Congratulations this poem has been "approved" for publication in...

THE MAGICAL MYTHICAL MYSTERY COMPENDIUM.
-Metaphysical, Mystical & Fantastical Poetry of the Arcane

By John Phoenix Hutchinson and Others. (c) 2012

Please feel free to submit other poems as you are not limited to one entry. Also please write a short "bio" about yourself and send to me via private message. This will be published along with your poem. Thanks J.P.H.

Anyone wanting to make Submissions to this Writers Cafe "e" book Project can do so on my group page, the deadline is 1st of November 2012.

[John Phoenix Hutchinson.]

Thanks for that Tate :)

[Neva Flores - Changeful..]

Wow! Tate this one surprised me...........beautiful!

[sarah redigan]

my heart melted ... wow

[Judy Ponceby]

Eloquent write Tate. Wonderful references to ancient Troy. Love the song, very fitting to this piece.

[Jazique]

That was lovely. I adore the song you picked; Adele is awesome. Well done on flow of the words of a short and simple poem. The similes and metaphores are great too and using the Greek and Roman mythology content is brilliant. Great job with creativity, poetry and image that was made so well. Keep up the amazing work.

[Haz]

gorgeous, I love this comparison

[Coyote Poetry]

Poem is very beautiful. Photo made the words come alive. Helen is one of my favorite people in the History of the Myths. Your story and description were outstanding. Thank you.
Coyote

[MagiCrystal]

Bravooooooooooooooooooooooo!.. I am speechless ...

[Pax Analog]

Striking accompanying photograph.

A sense of mystery is conveyed in simple words referencing an ancient story.

The worship of the night seems more a soothing of the soul than an avoidance of the day, like the Tao.