Greek Myth Poetry: Part Two

Here's part two, and another two poems for you to look at. These ones are based on the myths of Lamia and Arachne.


Lamia:

Mistress of a God,
Punished by his wife.
Sent mad with grief
By the death of her children,
Unable to rest from the image
Of their lifeless bodies,
Until Zeus took pity,
Gifting her with the ability
To remove her eyes,
Freeing her from the sight.
Transformed by her grief;
Part woman, part snake,
A monster, taking revenge
On the children of others,
For the loss of her own.
A threat by tired mothers;
‘Behave, or Lamia shall visit
In the dead of night,
And devour you whole,
While you dream.’

Arachne:

A beautiful girl,
Known for her gift;
Weaving tapestries
So magnificent,
Nymphs travelled
To see the magic.

She became vain,
Believing her work
The best in the world.
Athena, known for her
Glorious weavings,
Challenged the girl.

She accepted,
And the two women
Sat at their looms
And spun, while
A crowd of nymphs
And Gods looked on.

The girl wove
A tapestry showing
The sins of the Gods;
Athena wove
A tapestry showing
Them in their glory.

Angry and offended
By the girl’s
Disrespect, Athena
Destroyed the
Tapestry, and
Slapped the girl.

Depressed by
The consequences
Of her actions,
The girl hung
Herself, surprising
Athena.

Taking pity, Athena
Brought her back.
Her head shrank,
Hair fell out,
And nimble fingers
Became long legs.

‘For your vanity,’
Said Athena,
‘You are destined
To hang and spin
Forever –
As a spider.’

Comments

  1. Outcast27 February 2013 at 10:19

    Beautiful as usual Laura, actually love this in all honesty.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mark Means27 February 2013 at 15:19

    The tales of the gods always seemed to mix tragedy with redemption. Very well written!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson28 February 2013 at 10:08

      Thanks! I love them, they're really good inspiration! :)

      Delete

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