Hera

Hera,

In what dark chambers of thought

Did your jealous rage

Hatch the plan

To send smooth undulating death-dealers,

Tongues flickering in the dank air,

To seek out

Innocent

Blood?

Reviews

[Gaia Octavia]

Dark chambers indeed. Jealousy is a dangerous weapon wielded by mere mortals, and much more so in the hands of a Goddess. Hell hath no fury and all. Well done. I felt like it was time for a female mythological challenge. I figured Hera had enough darkness to pique my interest but I didn't produce anything particularly enjoyable ☺

[Zugzwang]

I thought you cut through to the core of the matter. Hera was indeed a nasty piece of work, although not without provocation. She's still remembered, though, and the fact that this archetype has endured the millennia speaks to our unchanging human nature.

[Gaia Octavia]

True. Basic human nature doesn't change over time. Nice insight and thanks for the encouragement ☺ I found the same to be true of yours. You know, we really do need objective judges for these Greek-offs haha. But I'm good with permanent ties (since we both claim the other is the winner every time) ☺

[Zugzwang]

We are both so unutterably humble. Thank you for reading my drivel :)

[Gaia Octavia]

Likewise .

[Gaia Octavia]

Also, thank you for tolerating Greek-off challenges. It really is admirable just how humble we are. And so modest too! Such a rare find in literary geniuses these days. Off to the next masterpiece ☺

[Zugzwang]

I like the Greek offs. Invariably interesting topics. I did a 10 minute exercise the other day on the topic "acid" with predictably negative results. I loved it.

[Gaia Octavia]

Nice. One of my classes for my (expensive waste of time) writing degree was a poetry workshop. My favorite exercise was when the professor had each student provide two words and then we had to write a poem including all of those words. It was massively entertaining. Glad u had fun.

[Zugzwang]

Well, I'm currently studying literature and writing (and psychology)!
An expensive waste of time, eh? Yeah, it probably is, but I have to do it anyway -it's on my bucket list.

[Gaia Octavia]

I have a Bachelor's in psychology as well as in English language/creative writing. That is hilarious! No wonder ur always in my head haha

[Zugzwang]

Mein Gott! It's uncanny. Someone get the Holy Water.

[Gaia Octavia]

More like someone get the student loans off my back ☺

[Zugzwang]

Indeed. Here, they get repaid through the tax system...so if you aren't earning you needn't pay. My plan is to remain in penury and in so doing avoid the privations of penury.

[Gaia Octavia]

In America they bleed you dry and then demand you pay them back for the honor. I owe over 60K for my degrees. Education is not a topic americans give a sh*t about so no one is telling universities to stop the (in my opinion felonious) overcharging. As for living in endless penury I am way ahead of you! Besides, single mothers have no other option here. Have I mentioned just how patriotic/bitter I am? ☺

[Zugzwang]

Wow, I'd heard it was bad but....that's really bad! It's definitely cheaper here (about $700 per subject, so about $17 000 for an artsy degreee) and the loan is a government one, so the interest is quite reasonable, and we have a bit of a thing about everyone having the opportunity to access education. Civic society and all that. As I understand it, in America it's more of a right wing, dog eat dog, Donald Trump sort of environment. Yar, and single mothers have it tough everywhere, but in Australia the government helps them out.

[Gaia Octavia]

Ugh. Trump. I am mortified to be an american. Also, because I'm a dork with an English degree, not capitalizing america is an intentional slight! No one I know wants anything to do with him. I am still hoping his wins are coming from Democrats intentionally setting Republicans up for failure but I don't have much faith in anything that has to do with politics anymore. Our entire public education system from kindergarten through highschool is 100% not funded and a complete failure. And no one cares! It was so disheartening when I worked as a teacher. It's just a sh*t show right now. I will be a part of the mass exodus if Trump (somehow against all logic) wins. But anywho I will get off my grumpy soapbox.

[Lori Brown Boniciolli]

I like this a lot - especially lines 5 and 6. Evocative.

[Zugzwang]

Thanks a lot! I do like a bit of alliteration from time to time. Gaia Octavia and I sometimes do stuff about the Greeks. If you get the time, check some of her writing out, it's really good.