Friday, May 17, 2013

Aergia Will Rest

The sun is up and Horme is moving about.
She never rests.
"Zing, zing," her blade sings
on the sharpening stone.

The sun reflects her face in the killing steel.
A tight smile, she is to her task,
hilt to stinging tip,
grinding the length of the blade's edge
for battle this day.

Eager, Horme sees the battle as a dream -
     
     rehearsing her moves like
     virgins dancing for the gods.
    
     The field just over
     the shallow river is her temple.
     Men rush to meet her,

     beauty, they try to embrace her beauty
     - a long reach for them,
     lying on her green altar,
     sodden in their own blood.

I see the glint, the restlessness in her eye.
"Zing, zing," her blade sings
in the middle of the camp.

I recline in my chair,
sweat beads dot my face
in this pathetic season of war.

Horme pauses from her deadly study,
sneers at my canopy of shade,
calls out from five paces away
in a blood scorched jest,

"Aergia, will you not go out with me today?"

I turn away,
my answer rests in a thought
- less than a thought,
I bite down on a grape,
its redness fills my mouth.

Any word I may have considered
dies with no effort,
no escape from my throat.

I hold another grape to my eye,
examining it closely.

"Zing, zing," Horme's blade sings.

©Eusebeia Philos 2013

Written for dVerse Poets ~ Meeting the Bar: Volition & Velleity

In Greek mythology Horme embodies the spirit of intense action and preparation, especially in the furious moments leading up to the first clash of battle. Her opposite, the goddess Aergia, was quite lazy and ill-prepared. Such lovely contrasts the Greeks gave us. I felt these ancient spirits might suffice for Anna's request at dVerse Poets Pub: write a poem that incorporates the concepts of volition and velleity. This my attempt.


5 comments:

  1. Very interesting and creative way to illustrate volition and velleity. In reality I would love to be Horme but by nature am Aergia. (Am working on changing it:)
    Enjoyed this.Zing zing, can never get enough of these Greek God poems:)

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  2. Fascinating! I didn't know about these two before, and I like the way you use them to embody both aspects of the prompt.

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  3. very cool...really like how you weave yourself in right in the middle as well and connect the myth to the moment.... and love all the details...the zing, zing...her face reflecting in the steel...really cool work

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  4. oh very nice....really like the contrast between the two...and each finding their own way...who's is the best way? well they each have to make that decision surely....very well told sir...

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  5. This is really amazing..it captured me within the first few lines..but, this part really made me go wow. Richly woven magic.

    Eager, she sees the battle as a dream,
    rehearsing her moves like
    virgins dancing to the gods

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