The Tales of Oedipus Rex and His Daughter, Antigone
A man who goes against the gods
Will meet his end. What are the odds?
For man is rash, his mind is lame,
And pride will bring great men to shame.
You'd think that after all this time
That one would see life is no game.
Oedipus' knowledge did him well,
But committed crimes I dare not tell,
At least not hear him, but he's not near,
So listen well, and you shall hear
Of the king's folly, and eventual fall,
And how the people at him jeered.
Ignoring the prophecy, Oedipus fled.
Solving a riddle, his mother he wed
After killing his father unknowingly.
Then he met a prophet who could not see
Who told him the truth of his woeful end
That would come with the prophecy.
Jocasta hanged, and Oedipus blind,
He fled into exile to punish his mind.
His daughters and sons he left alone,
Sitting in scandal that had recently grown.
A fallen king forgotten soon
Lived only to suffer and moan.
Eteocles and Polyneices,
Two warring brothers trying to seize
The right to the throne to do as they willed.
In one single battle, both brothers so skilled,
Fought with all of their strength and their might,
And in that fatal battle, both brothers were killed.
Brave and bold sister, Antigone
Stuck in debate with the elder, Ismene
Argued that good acts were what the gods saw,
And that honoring the dead would surely draw
The good favor of the dead souls down below
And more honor and glory than obeying the law.
Caught in the act of burying her dead brother,
Poor Polyneices, in a case like no other.
She'd be put to death for saving this traitor,
For ignoring the edict, King Creon did hate her,
But could he kill the beloved girl
Whom his own son was to marry later?
What will happen next, I cannot say.
Poor Antigone's end seems so far away.
It is for me, for I have not yet read
The second half of this play, so I'm lead
To keep reading the tale that inspires loyalty
To one's family, but I wonder…is she dead?