SUPPLICATION
In the early morning hours he remembers, and he worries.
The sea has drawn a sailor into its abyss
He almost thinks himself a scholar, studying the pattern of night on cool, moonlit walls. The hour is lost somewhere between the darkness and the dawning- and he breathes quietly, rubbing life into chilled fingertips. He shivers, though the night is warm, and he decides to place the blame on anything but fear.
He rises, and lights a candle that throws sharp shadows all around and pulls him, slowly, to the bureau. He rests it there.
At the candle-stand of the Holy Mother
The eyes are gleaming at him- the smiling little eyes in the miniature, done in oil. They pierce the very dust of ages, from the grim, uncertain threshold where Life embraces Death.
And he prays to her.
For strength. For courage. He prays for the son, for whom she gave both everything and nothing.
He's as out of reach to Ben as she is now. Abroad. An errant little boy who stole the body of a man and fled with it across a nation, across a sea. Ben would pray for the wayward boy across the span of seven seas- and he does so, touching the portrait a final time.
The icon listens gravely and grieves to hear him yearn
And he wonders if she sees the boy, if she knows…
And he wonders if he yearns for one that shall no more return.
A/N: Well, if people can do song-fics, I can do a poem-fic. Expect this to be a three-parter, perhaps with a two or three part companion to be posted separately later. Today's poem was Supplication, written by CP Cavafy and translated by John Cavafy. Hopefully the next one will end up longer than the Author's Note ^_^'
BJ2, AC1830, and Guest: Thanks so much for taking the time to review! It really means a lot to hear feedback, and I'm glad y'all enjoyed the piece.
Guest: I'm especially appreciative of your review. Like you said, poetry is very open to interpretation, and that was my entire motivation to write these pieces. The majority of Cavafy's work (that I've found at least) is either openly sexual, or has strong sexual undertones. One of Their Gods is no exception. If you want to take a look for yourself, any translation of the poem will work but I used the one translated by Rae Dalvan that you can find on Poetry Foundation.
I tried to apply Adam to this and to the other tones of the poem. Adam's pull for these people is largely due to his sexuality (I see him as the most sexual of his brothers), but also because he's alien to them. They are looking for someone, for some quality, and whatever it is they strain to find it in whoever passes by. Long story short- there's a lot of sexuality in there. A lot. But if that's not what you want to see, it can be read as a deeper longing for something that is not apart of their world.
As far as him being bi-sexual, well, "when in Rome"... Honestly, you can delve into that as far as his character will allow. The underworld of the city can be double-sided: maybe he was seeking debauchery, maybe he was seeking the freedom to be, maybe he's just proud to have come this far. At any rate, you have a sharp eye, a wonderful sense for interpretation, and I really appreciate the thought you put into your review :)