Poem #6 for Poetry Month -- "A Myth of Devotion"

[nightdog_barks]

From the American writer Louise Glück (more information about her may be found here), a beautifully luminous poem on the lengths we will go to to make others happy, and the unintended consequences that follow. This is a small retelling of the story of Persephone, from Hades' point of view.



A Myth of Devotion


When Hades decided he loved this girl
he built for her a duplicate of earth,
everything the same, down to the meadow,
but with a bed added.

Everything the same, including sunlight,
because it would be hard on a young girl
to go so quickly from bright light to utter darkness

Gradually, he thought, he'd introduce the night,
first as the shadows of fluttering leaves.
Then moon, then stars. Then no moon, no stars.
Let Persephone get used to it slowly.
In the end, he thought, she'd find it comforting.

A replica of earth
except there was love here.
Doesn't everyone want love?

He waited many years,
building a world, watching
Persephone in the meadow.
Persephone, a smeller, a taster.
If you have one appetite, he thought,
you have them all.

Doesn't everyone want to feel in the night
the beloved body, compass, polestar,
to hear the quiet breathing that says
I am alive, that means also
you are alive, because you hear me,
you are here with me. And when one turns,
the other turns --

That's what he felt, the lord of darkness,
looking at the world he had
constructed for Persephone. It never crossed his mind
that there'd be no more smelling here,
certainly no more eating.

Guilt? Terror? The fear of love?
These things he couldn't imagine;
no lover ever imagines them.

He dreams, he wonders what to call this place.
First he thinks: The New Hell. Then: The Garden.
In the end, he decides to name it
Persephone's Girlhood.

A soft light rising above the level meadow,
behind the bed. He takes her in his arms.
He wants to say I love you, nothing can hurt you

but he thinks
this is a lie, so he says in the end
you're dead, nothing can hurt you
which seems to him
a more promising beginning, more true.



~ Louise Glück
From Averno, 2006, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC
Online source here.

Comments

[blackmare-9.livejournal.com]

Tender and gorgeous and disturbing. Somehow it reminds me of certain people who kill those they (think they) love in real life, to "save" them from whatever the perceived doom.

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

I liked this a lot -- I love it that Hell, to Hades, is just the place where he lives. There's no awful connotations for him, so calling it New Hell is actually a sign of new beginnings, new love.

There's a lot going on here in a relatively small package ... it's a very interesting piece.

[takes-a-fairy.livejournal.com]

*nods*
What Mare said.

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

Yup, this.

[takes-a-fairy.livejournal.com]

It kind of gives the feeling of an overcast rainy day...matches my mood. I'm still tired and in a mild blue funk like last night.

I think it's time to use my progesterone since Aunt Flo's been gone several days. That's generally how it goes a couple days after she's gone away.

[lolleeroberts.livejournal.com]

Wow. Love the imagery in this. And the ending is very chilling.

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

Isn't it great? And I just love the ending. It's just ... "well, yes, of course, this is what I'll do." And it just knocks you down.

[hannahrorlove.livejournal.com]

I don't know why, but the ending made me smile.

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

Heh. The ending made me smile, too, with it's wonderfully thought-out internal logic.

[purridot.livejournal.com]

*catching up on Poetry month while avoiding schoolwork*

I kind of always had a soft spot for Hades. This poem is a wonderful exercise in POV and how we try to project love onto others so hopefully.