Odysseus sailed for nine long years,
Abandoning his sweetheart
Whose chest beat just for him.
He wound around the Mediterranean
Island-hopping with the best of them,
Sporting the sea as his medal
(You could see it in his face where he’d been)
And she dreamed on, perpetually praying
Unravelling weaves and lives at the seams
Scrounging the gods for another night,
Another day of dignity,
When the men left her solely
To work on her weave.
Pleading Athena for wisdom not might,
For every night her hopes got tattered
Like her web. Another day of watching,
Another patient day of watching the ebb
And flow of water, without him on it.
Louise Vella (born 1991) Malta
Source: Malta Classics Association Newsletter, Issue 13, Oct 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please keep your comments relevant and free from abusive language. Thank you. Note that comments are moderated so it may be a day or two before your comment is posted - irrelevant or abusive comments will not be published.