Poems from the Greek mythology
Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine, but belong to Greek myths.
Sea Nymphs
In the noon, when sea-side cliffs,
By the waves mercilessly riddled
Into macadam, sea-nymphs,
Ride those waves, and laugh, and giggle.
O sea-nymphs! You look in mirrors!
O sea-nymphs! Your kind always giggles!
O sea-nymphs! You all are white and blue!
O sea-nymphs! The waves come straight and true!
When the curve of tide is shining like a great inverted mirror!..
When the sun is being reflected, each ray coming like a spear!..
O sea-nymphs! You look in mirrors!
O sea-nymphs! Your kind always giggles!
O sea-nymphs! Your all are white and blue!
O sea-nymphs! The waves come straight and true!
But the mirror of the tides get smashed
Into fully fixed cliffs do the sea-waves crash!
But the seaside cliffs remain standing tall!
Of the fickle waves remains naught at all!
O sea-nymphs! You may look in your mirrors!
O sea-nymphs! You may have your giggles!
O sea-nymphs! Your may be white and blue!
O sea-nymphs! Get smashed with the waves on cliffs you surely do!
Amazon kingdom
The kingdom of the Amazons in Turkey once did lie.
The very happy Amazons felt like that they could fly!
For once the Amazons were horsed, they truly looked like flying,
And fickle Greeks would always flee from Amazons' war crying!
But the centuries do fly, far beyond a war-like cry,
And just who are we to know when is each of us to die?
Brief human memory quite is, and who can now say,
Just where exactly fickle Greeks to Amazons fell prey?
Upon the sands? On the deserted coasts?
Upon some shore half-forgotten? Or just in idle boasts?
For the centuries do fly, far beyond a war-like cry,
And just who are we to know when is each of us to die?
The southern wind does range quite far, and sound with him he carries;
The Amazons their country left, the cause for that does varies...
And pearly tide - it always comes, as surely as clockwork,
And where the Amazons once stood, now only walks the fat Turk.
But the centuries do fly, far beyond a war-like cry,
And just who are we to know when is each of us to die?
Who said that Amazons are dead? Perhaps they will make a comeback,
And when they actually do so, watch-out you mangy man-pack!
Atlas the titan
And long we went through the tableland,
'Around did cliffs arise,
And as we passed through foggy band,
Sweat covered our eyes.
Then suddenly a steep did gape -
Black underneath the sun.
And from its' depth - like murmur of silk cape,
Came the voice of great Ocean.
And there, like to Jesus Christ,
We were visited by Satan.
And Satan spoke, "have ye faith?"
And this was early March.
And from the cliffs that stood like guards
Came a blizzard, snow like starch.
And then we saw, from a mountain-peak,
That the blizzard softened instead
The snows that did shine in the East,
So woolly white, like hair of some beast,
And there, over clouds, in the range,
Our spirit guide asked: "you believe in Atlas?"
We stood upon the cliff; the mighty wind
Did its' best shot, trying to bring us down.
The pines growing in the steep, stood straight, just like a crown.
And Ocean, exhaled once, and it was like a sign,
And then we yelled, for we then knew:
"Yeah, we believe, high class!
Get behind us Satan, your wind may or not blew -
We are rooted to ground like Atlas!
Our heads no longer can you screw -
For the truth - like the sun – takes no sass!"
Theseus
Theseus was sleeping in a laurel crown,
Unaware that his good luck made gods frown;
Theseus was sleeping fast upon his ship,
The constellation Sagittarius was shining bright and deep.
Theseus - you had some major luck;
Theseus - the girls will quite admire your pluck;
Theseus - in Athens you shall rule;
Theseus - for all that, you are a fool!
Ignoring what is above, the others fell asleep too,
Those half-awake, bits of the songs did hum...
Oh Theseus! In skies shines Sagittarius -
Your luck is partway gone!
Theseus - you had some major luck;
Theseus - the girls will quite admire your pluck;
Theseus - in Athens you shall rule;
Theseus - for all that, you are a fool!
In happiness, we all are little kids,
The crown of laurel does a victor mark;
Aegeus was a nervous wreck, black sails did he see -
And so he fed a harbour shark.
Theseus - you had some major luck;
Theseus - the girls will quite admire your pluck;
Theseus - in Athens you shall rule;
Theseus - you have killed your father, you damn fool!
Halcyone
In the waves his face flashed, all corpse-like,
With a shout, to him jumped she;
And with a shout, all ringing from joy - like -
Did two sea gulls fly, quite free.
Hal-cy-one! Love does conquer all!
Hal-cy-one! Death may take its' toll!
Hal-cy-one! Do not fear it!
Hal-cy-one! To love, death is sh*t!
Wintertime, the seashore's wild,
Sea-swells are both salty and cold.
What is a better place for nestling/child
To grow-up both strong and bold?
Hal-cy-one! Love does conquer all!
Hal-cy-one! Death may take its' toll!
Hal-cy-one! Do not fear it!
Hal-cy-one! To love, death is sh*t!
For a week, Halcyone stops singing,
For a week, the winds do stop their ringing;
Ships are spared, sea is silver-calm,
In the steppe, oxen chew their gum,
Halcyone nests this week in peace;
For his grandkids, Aeolus spares Greece.
Aeolus! Look on your descendants!
Aeolus! Death's toll's antedesendant!
Aeolus! Father to a bird!
Aeolus! What he promised, he kept word!
Circe
The goddess sits onto tripod,
Her hair is pale red gold;
Green are her eyes, her nose straight as sword -
In a copper mirror, just the truth is told.
Circe! Kissing you sends lips a-stinging!
Circe! Kissing you starts ears ringing!
Circe! Though you may turn men to swine,
You, great Circe, always look divine!
Her body covered in velvet rice,
It hides her body's colour, pink and tender;
Like two drops of nectar, or perhaps of ice,
Two earrings shake, each on a stem or bender.
Circe! Kissing you makes lips a-stinging!
Circe! Kissing you starts ears ringing!
Circe! Though you may turn men to swine,
You, great Circe, always look divine!
Ulysses says: "Oh Circe!
You are perfect! Each detail is,
Your arms and your great hair,
And how to tell about your breasts I neither know nor care!
Oh Circe! Kissing you makes lips a-stinging!
Circe! Kissing you starts ears ringing!
Circe! Though you may turn men to swine,
You, great Circe, always look divine!"
And the goddess smiled back: "Ulysses!
Great flatterer you are, but do not forget my kisses!
My greatest treasure is my hair. My shoulders too, I guess,
But rest - I do not care!
For I am Circe! My kisses - honeyed stingers!
Daughter of the sun I am! My kisses - ear-ringers!
Ulysses brave - though I look quite divine,
A sorceress I am, that turns men into swine!"
The Trojan horse
The priests began to howl - to their knees,
The populace more plain fell most eagerly.
The Trojan horse - huge, with a golden mane,
Has entered the gate, looking most regally!
Woe to you, fair Troy! With all your people singing joy -
Darkness and Greek devils are upon you!
Cassandra's prophesying cry - aside cast like a toy -
And light of future now shines quite beyond you!
Morpheus
Your garland is of fiery poppies made,
You are Guest Mysterious, you came from chthonic darkness;
Your face is swarthy, and your gaze is sad -
How glad we am, that we are asleep, not dead!
Morpheus! You are brother to the Death!
Morpheus! You started a big mess!
Morpheus! You heard my midnight cry!
Morpheus! Hold me so that we now could fly!
Like fairy-tale flame, all glowing in the dark,
Divine wreath will take me to the fairies;
We see it all, we taste the magic berries;
There is naught that here we cannot do.
Morpheus! You are brother to the Death!
Morpheus! You started a big mess!
Morpheus! You heard my midnight cry!
Morpheus! Hold me so that we now could fly!
Restraints of this world - all drop away;
In this dream world all is free, for naught we will pay;
Available is all, and even lack of fear,
Of knowledge that when we will die, we will lose all things that dear.
Morpheus! You are brother to the Death!
Morpheus! You started a big mess!
Morpheus! You heard our parting cry!
Morpheus! To you from death we fly!
Endnotes:
Here is a brief summary of which myth each song is actually about.
1. Sea nymphs. Talks obviously about sea nymphs, daughters of the sea-god Nereus, and how they like to play in the surf.
2. The Amazon Kingdom. According to Greek myths, the Amazons had a kingdom somewhere in Asia Minor, of which Turkey was a part (or was it vice versa?).
3. Atlas the Titan. Atlas was a titan whom Zeus sentenced to support the sky forever on his head and shoulders. However, the Harpies had their own ideas of how to creatively use his name in one of their songs… and used it. That is all. Otherwise, this song is probably the non-Greek one, bringing in J.C. and the Adversary into it for some reason. Let us not go into it at all.
4. Theseus. The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur is one of the most well spread one, I hope. Theseus, Hercules and Perseus are probably the most popular heroes of the Classical mythology, no? Anyways, the Harpies' song is about Theseus' return to Greece. See, Theseus left under black sails, but promised his father Aegeus, the king of Athens, that if he kills the Minotaur, he will replace them with white. Well, he did kill the Minotaur, but ran into some female-related problems and forgot about his promise. So when Aegeus saw his son's ship returning with black mournful sails, he drowned himself in the sea, which was called Aegean hereafter. And the Sagittarius the Archer who is drawn in the shape of the Centaur… that is another myth entirely, about Hercules and Deianeira and Nessus the centaur… let us talk about them another time.
5. Halcyone. Daughter of god of the winds, Aeolus, Halcyone married king Ceicus, who drowned. In despair, Halcyone jumped after him, and Aeolus and other gods, touched, turned the pair into gods, supposedly kingfishers, though the song turned them into gulls instead… and seemed to hint that Aeolus had his hand in the ship-wreaking disaster that made Halcyone into a widow. That is not so, for further information about Halcyone, her husband and her father read Ovid's Metamorphoses.
6. Circe. Daughter of the Sun-God Helios and a sea nymph (yes, one of those of whom the Harpies have already sang) Circe was the Witch-Goddess of the island of Aeaea, and had briefly turned Ulysses (or Odysseus) men into swine. That is common knowledge. However, what the wider public doesn't usually know, that Ulysses (after turning his crew back into humans) spent an entire year on Aeaea with Circe in pretty loose arrangements, and eventually Circe had a son from him, never mind that he already had another one back home – Telemachus. What a guy.
7. The Trojan horse. All is clear here, I believe? The Trojan horse is a well-known myth and a catch phrase, and as for Cassandra – she is the prophetess who foresaw Troy's doom, but no one believed her, for that was the will of the gods.
8. Morpheus. Morpheus (or Hypnos) is god of sleep and dreams. He is also the star of the Sandman comics.
Anyways, that is that.
End