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Lyn-Purcell Oct 2020

One of Fate's traids
Threads spun long with great twine sides
From birth to the hearse


New day, new haiku!
I'm covering the the Moirai aka the Fates now! They were known to be the daughters of Zeus and Themis predominantly, but I have heard their parentage vary: from Chaos to Nyx to even Gaia. One of the best parts about myths is that it's so malleable. They were in charge of the fates of mortals, from who were born to who died and each have their own unique tasks as well. Clotho was the spinner - she spun the threads of life and death to which this haiku talks about. Imagine how that sort of power of life and death in your very hands. It's truly something that is quite amazing to think about as well as terrifying.

Anyway, thank you all for growing followers, I'm forever humbled and grateful for the support 🙏🌹💜
Here's the link for the growing collection:
https://hellopoetry.com/collection/132853/the-women-of-myth/
Be back tomorrow with another one!
Please take care of yourselves and stay safe!
Much love,
Lyn 💜
Lyn-Purcell Oct 2020

Fine queen of Carthage
Kingdom grew from a bull's hide
Vow burns within her heart


New day, new haiku!
Yes, the Women of Myth series is ready to be continued! ^.^
Hard to believe that this is my 980th poem! I've extended the list so a lot to come now.
This haiku is about Queen Dido [aka Elissa], the legendary founding queen of Carthage, known as Tunisia today which is located in Africa, on the north-western coast.  I believe her name means 'wanderer' which suits her perfectly, to be honest.

Dido's story is one that is inspirational as well as tragic. Before she became the Queen of Carthage, she was a Princess of Tyre, a city in today's Lebanon.
After her father, King Mattan passed away [In Virgil's Aeneid, the King is named Belus], he wanted his children, Dido and Pygmalion to co-rule the Kingdom. At the time, Dido was married to Sychaeus / Acerbas, High Priest [ as well as and her paternal uncle] who amassed great wealth. The moment Mattan died, Pygmalion seized power and killed the high priest to gain his wealth and riches but it was not to be as Acerbas hid his wealth which Dido found and with it, as well as a handful of supporters, she fled Tyre, sailing the Mediterranean until they ended up in the north-western coast of Africa.

Safe from her brother's wrath, she came to meet the ruler of the land, Iarbas, and sold her land that can be covered by a bull's skin. Dido was as shrewd as she was beautiful. She cleverly cut the bull's skin into strips and used to enclose land for herself and her people, to Iarbas' shock and chagrin but clearly, he was impressed and intrigued. He honoured his word and the kingdom of Carthage was founded. The king watched her from afar, noting that under her rule, the kingdom thrived and he wanted her for himself.

But Dido made a vow to herself that she will take no other man as her husband. Iarbas was not swayed. He wanted her so much that reportedly, he threatened war. Feeling trapped and wanting to keep her word, Dido took her own life. Some say by sheathing a blade into herself on the funeral pyre another, by throwing herself into the pyre itself.

In Virgil's legendary poem, Aeneid, Dido fell head over heels for the Trojan Hero, Aeneas but still, her husband had a firm place in her heart. She took her own life when he was called away, following his duty to the gods.
But to be honest, I rather prefer the original story over Virgil's. For it gives this beautifully clever and tragic queen a more well-rounded view. Though Virgil's narrative is similar and further exaggerates her tragic end through Aeneas rejecting her which majorly contributed to her end.

Dido is a fascinating character to me. She deserves every respect, this wonderful mortal queen. 🌹
Anyway, thank you all for growing followers, I'm forever humbled and grateful for the support 🙏🌹💜
Here's the link for the growing collection:
https://hellopoetry.com/collection/132853/the-women-of-myth/
Be back tomorrow with another one!
Please take care of yourselves and stay safe!
Much love,
Lyn 💜
rk Oct 2020
i want to unravel you
pick apart your bones
devour you so hungrily,
you'll stain my sheets
and leave me aching.
- h a d e s; my love.
Natasha Monica Oct 2020
Zeus bothered the sleeping summer

And left the moon bewildered-

Dancing around earth clockwise,

Stars fell in complete mayhem.



And there came Poseidon in rage!

Waves reached the mighty sky

And never returned to its abode,

Abruptly, it stopped kissing the lonely shore.



Hades crawled out from the underworld

With the three-headed Cerberus

Wiggling its tail, mouth wide-open-

Summer was doomed.



Screaming to the deserted forest,

Echoed voice answered the call

Autumn turned silver from gold

Spring battled with Fall.



Turmoil awakened the sun

Stretching out its rays to the skyline

Coating the universe with warmth

Hope sprouted as the birds sang.



The gods went back to Olympus-

Left the earth in yellow embrace

Filled the clouds with pink and orange hues

Behind this milieu, I found you.
kylie Oct 2020
pink plush lips against my clavicle
breathe into me a life that i never knew
before you
— galatea
Matt Oct 2020
Temptation unravels like a flower abdicating her bulb
For to fair maidens, my life I’ve sold
Hold me and dawn your lips upon mine
And let you and me sail through Paris, down the river of her Seine

Warmth I know not, yet nathless I seek Apollo’s chariot mare
And to hunt ‘til dusk at us she stares
Lay here under the veil of twilight
Under the twilight, ‘til the sun lays forth her light, nay any brightness

Follow me down the Rhine, right, follow not to the river of Styx
Rise with me amongst Alps, like Frederick
When I call, will you find us a niche?
Or tell me Atlas has fell, and your thoughts have shattered to pieces?

Endeavor to find my ailing pen and fly to me on winged shoes
I juggle your court, the fastest fool
Woman, I thought you my medicine
But the turmoil you pave, leaves me a reluctant libertine

Here am I, waging a war wherein I will dutifully fail
But for thee, Cupid’s arrow I’d impale
Then in my failure I find discord
Oh how my war ails her, bind me in brass under the lunar cold

How could you forgive me? Wearied, hands I forged flames and scarred your heart
And left you hideously distraught
Should you, I’d build you a throne d’or
And father for us four children, each as innocent as a fleur

Cast me out like the dawn, for in my heart, the wind blows full of sand
Deep in there, your Trojan horse still stands
Down in the earth you will find my soul
You brought your wars-men to lay waste what could have been wonderful

Proud, are you?, for waving the air under my wings upon which I
Climbed to the Sun, in euphoric high
Now to the maze where I still devise
To face your wrath and wrestle your beasts to ensure our love survives

Tis a hopeless cause, I walk like the air on a stale summer day
And I’m dreaming of your sharp green eyes
And I remember your skin like silk
Woven by the Fates; “us,” I thought we were to be bred of the same ilk

Resign to Versailles and sit beneath the Sun King, his brightly “or”
Run to the valley, you did before
And in there find your poisoned lily
Your fallen stars unveil your sympathies; marked by your fleur-de-lis

Stand like a pillar of salt, lick your wounds, and try to quench your thirst
You were born with two snakes in your fists
And you fend off all men; lonesome blues
You deny yourself passion and love, but dress as if he seeks you

I drowned myself beneath a circle of stars, searching for answers
And came upon a ballet dancer
I asked her, “don’t dance in paraphrase”
“Let me see you at réveille, and peer on your inward gaze.”

Show yourself to me, self proclaimed Queen of many-a-mans envy
Your masquerade ***** hide your beauty
You speak endless lies, but show not a man
When you stay behind your dramatic masks, you’ll never know friends again

Throw out your doctrines that bind your immeasurable concerns
Turn off the things you think you have learned
And decide with your mind and your heart
Seek Saturn to announce your mysteries, now then, think like Descartes
Matt Oct 2020
Stand like a pillar
Of salt, now lick your wounds and
Try to quench your thirst
Yaoyan Oct 2020
Cunning ones, with nine-tails and orbs of power,
Beautiful women luring men to devour.
Honored ones, bringing bountiful harvests,
Whom villagers share their food and drink.

They are loyal companions, playful tricksters,
Messengers and harbingers.

They do not serve a single master.
(They are not human, no matter the smile, the enchanting eyes,
Do not forget that.)
--
The fox returns another stormy night, banging loudly on front gates.
(No one else awakes to answer)
They wear human clothes; they wear her face.
“What are you here for?” the girl asks, bright-eyed and unafraid.

The fox walks forward, on the tips of its feet, swaying and smiling with too many teeth.
“Are you here to grant me a wish?” Because the girl has heard of stories like this.
“Do you want me to?” Said with childlike glee. “What would you give in exchange to me?”

The girl shakes her head and asks once more, “Tell me what you are here for.”
“To thank you.” They dangle a small cloth pouch.

Winds howl. Rain washes over the ledge.

“I want something else.”

The fox sounds a barking laugh. “You? Make demands of me?” The glint in its eyes says
little boys and girls are what I eat. I wear their skulls and charm their hearts,
until all that’s left is an empty shell
and my own divine immortality.

A shake of a head, begetting rain drops. “A bargain, a simple trade. I teach you and you teach me.”
To capture youth and bottle up light.
To gaze past the heavens, to move earth under my feet,
let me see it all, this universe, its secrets and its mysteries.

“And what will you teach me?”
The girl, Abril, smiles, a little too wide, and full of teeth.
“I will teach you to be human.”
2/5 of The Hunter and the Fox
Yaoyan Oct 2020
It starts with a girl hunting in the storm.

The sky pours a torrential flood.
The air cackles with the smell of ozone.
Spirits dance and curse over distant pagodas
on rows of lone mountain peaks, scales of a great dragon.
She follows the cold flashes of light,
Until she is only shadow.

(In the distance, a woman’s voice wails)

It starts with a girl,
Arrow notched, string taunt,
Hands steady, and water on her hair, her face, her lips,
On the callouses of her fingertips.
She meets the glowing ember eyes-
Thunder booms,
A tail, a grin, splits in two,
A whistle and a deafening thud.

It starts with a girl,
Who lets a fox live.
1/5 The Hunter and the Fox. Part poem/short story based on Chinese mythology.
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