At the foot of great mount Olympus
They sing sweet songs to appease
Grumpy old Zeus, while in his
Heavenly house he would berate
The daughters of the cunning immortals
And Ares strikes his spear upon
The rocks, sparking high notes of war
To hurry the phalanx beyond the green
Valleys of the waiting Peloponnisos.
Dear, gentle Athena, teaching Apollo
How to curry favour with the tiresome Greeks
And Hector, rattling his platitudes to anyone
Who will stop singing those sweet songs
To appease grumpy old Zeus in his heaven.
Oh! That we should have to know such
Mind numbing codology from the long ago.
It would be far better to prattle on about mythical
Cuchulainn, tied to his tree-trunk, frightening
The enemies of the Fianna as they tried
To subdue the bold men of royal Ulster
During the wars of the ancient Celts
Spilling blood and gore in the name of
History and righteousness for all to share
Or talk about the seal-women swimming
Along Atlantic waters by the coves of Achill
Where they shed their skins and lived quietly
Among the fishermen on that barren isle
Or will we have to find more believable
Myths in the books of the past while the
Writers of the new world spill out today’s
Stories of unbelievable nonsense.
Ah! we need a Palaeolithic myth to tickle the
Blood of our listeners on this summer’s day.
Then lend an ear as I unburden myself with
The myth of the almighty serpent, spinning
Its dreamtime wonders, gouging the course of
The Murambigi and the Todd and the other
Mighty rivers of this great land, home to the
Oldest myths-makers of all time and wonder
Why their stories are not yet world renown.
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3 comments:
Adrian, this is my favourite poem of yours! Although it deals with ancient gods, it's rich with up-to-date metaphor which I really enjoy. I love the references and the human attributes you give the gods -'grumpy old Zeus', 'Dear, gentle Athena...' etc.
You manage to bring all these disparate stories together and then finish right here, with our own 'Oldest myth-makers of all time'. Brilliant!
I have made a great mistake in this poem - stupid me- Thor is the Norse God of War. I should have used Ares, the Greek God of battles great. So, If you read again, I have removed the one and replaced him with t'other, whithout damaging the stanza. What does anyone think?
A very clever piece Adrian that draws all mythological tales together. I especially liked the Celtic tales. And to finish with the serpent myth is very fitting.
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