Odysseus, And The Reunion Of The Marriage Bed.

For Kerry's Thursday challenge #2

Odysseus, and the reunion of the marriage bed

 

 

For this, this beauty most;
Every Paris strained to see, yet only one
Could make her leave her Menelaus-
Leave away and go with him
To Troy or Denver;

 

By wooden horse-filled slow approach
With just one man aboard, a man like those before
Who came to siege the beauty queen...a lovely being
Posed as bride, to an angry Spartan king.

 

(Out of the mist, a low voice called.. abate!)

 

His ears pricked, but he refused to listen;
An inner crew had  braced their backs to task-
Rose and dipped the oars, his mind-ship-
Put to sea by timed, seductive beats
That only vamps and Goddess can drum.

 

He waxed his ears, but felt vibration
From a heart that seemed to throb inside his groin;
The ship sailed on, through stormy days of lust
And all the thrusting steps he danced
Were to the music of his sirens song;

 

(Returning home, to Penelope)

 

The boat that sailed through time and air
Returned to land near-where the anchor post
Made fast her many suitor challenged bed.
The olive tree stood upright- straight
As all the sum of courter strengths,
Could not budge its roots from rocks and clay.

 

(But for a while the weeds in space
 outside the gate remained.)

 

The wanderer began to till neglected fields
That dressed the slopes around his psychic home-
Sowing them with salt of sorrow tears;
Poorly matched, he used an ox and a*s-
Of thoughts...the bull fought hard against its yoke
The mule, in hames strayed back and forth
Across the furrows-sanity was hard to gain  
'til Penny held a fruit out in her hand.

 

(His sorrow put the rows back straight again.)

 

He couldn't comprehend  what he had done,
Which happens when a partner acts the fool.
Their union could have met its final end,
But his mortal lady beckoned at the door
Behind which hid the secret of her faith;

Steadfast stood the tree that made a post,
Its roots in earth held fast their wedding bed.

The fruits of love, in straightened lines
Grew tall outside the garden gate,
And flowers overtook the weeds that grew
From seeds of tears--

Forgiveness buffed away the salt.

 

***********************************************************

(from "The Odyssey"
"We walked through a grove of olive trees so old their tortured trunks were thicker than a bull, and found ourselves in a walled area containing more bare soil than it did fruit trees. At which moment we saw Odysseus.  He was furrowing the ground with the oddest team I have ever seen hitched to a plough -an ox and a mule. They hauled and jerked in opposite directions, the plough heaved and went sideways.
Babbling senselessly to himself, laughing insanely, Odysseus ploughed and sowed his salt. "

 

Author's Note

I wandered pretty far with this...this Odyssey in search of forgiveness, that has taken place ever since man and woman decided to wed.

Reviews

[just rose.]

I have such a hard time keeping track of the Greek epics, and God knows I spend a lot of time working with the academic aspects of them, versions and editions for my professional work. I don't know if it's because they're antiquated or archetypal that they baffle me - I can never follow the story. Is it because we already know the story, and there is nothing new under the sun - or because we don't know the story, and if we did, we'd make our way more effortlessly through this world? But if they're rendered this beautifully it doesn't really matter what the story is - the reader gains an understanding. Some beautiful imagery here, and especially the point/counterpoint of moral and sensual throughout the piece.

[Kerry O'Connor]

This poem just rings with the epic tones of ancient poets! I am amazed at the skill with which you wove the tale, the journey from Ithaca in search of glory, and the long way back to the true heart who waited so many years for fortune-seeking and war-mongering to come to an end.

What I love most is your use of figurative language, which has moved far from the basic comparison, but weaves together the strands of the concrete and the metaphoric - the style of a great writer, in my opinion. I thought it especially effective in describing the sea journey:
His ears pricked, but he refused to listen;
An inner crew had braced their backs to task-
Rose and dipped the oars, his mind-ship-
Put to sea by timed, seductive beats
That only vamps and Goddess can drum.

He waxed his ears, but felt vibration
From a heart that seemed to throb inside his groin;
The ship sailed on, through stormy days of lust
And all the thrusting steps he danced
Were to the music of his sirens song..

Thank you for submitting a piece to the Thursday Challenge #2

[Audrey Howitt]

Exquisite write Ford. Lovely use of metaphor in this poem. The roots, the union, the tree which continues. Lovely use of flow and language. Just brilliantly done!

[Poeticadia]

A timeless narrative brilliantly retold through the metaphors of mythology. A husbands folly leads him away from his wife, but the "roots" that bind them and their enduring love, proves steadfast enough to save their "union". The metaphor in the final lines for "the fruits of love"; the fertility of the land and its perennial rejuvenation (like forgiveness) are just perfect.

[Judy Ponceby]

Brilliant work here. Your metaphors are beautifully detailed and honed to perfection. :) Well done.

[emmajoy]

This is such a fine piece of writing; you've certainly portrayed and captured the time and events, brought the characters to life, slightly updating the tale in a way that even non-classics readers can understand and appreciate it.

'Poorly matched, he used an ox and a*s-
Of thoughts...the bull fought hard against its yoke
The mule, in hames strayed back and forth
Across the furrows-sanity was hard to gain
'til Penny held a fruit out in her hand. '

And yes, forgiveness between lovers lives bright and clear in these lines - a moral from the past into the now which should be remembered.