In Greece
Tag Archives: mythology
STEALING FIRE
STEALING FIRE
The thing about love
is that you can light one from another
The reason that the gods
were so punishing to Prometheus
was because he took
the last spark of special that they had
NARCISSUS IN THE WEST
NARCISSUS IN THE WEST
Of course the view
is all about you
The loneliness
of panoramic plains
the big-small making mountains
It’s still a mirror
it’s still a mirror
even if you’re looking through
NARCISSUS’ NIGHTMARE
NARCISSUS’ NIGHTMARE
Now
every time
I look into the water
I see your
face
THE NEW ARCHETYPES
THE NEW ARCHETYPES
Apollo is still locked into the light
Dionysus still dancing our darkenss
Mars and friends are still busy at war
and Aphrodite’s still getting her way
The old archetypes will never go away
but we have some new ones here today
Elvis is the King
John Wayne is the Duke
and Marilyn is Marilyn
Babe is the Babe and the Boss is the Boss
Diana the Huntress has become the prey
It doesn’t matter if they’ve come
from Mt. Olympus or Hollywood USA
they’re in us now, and they’re in play
IN GREECE
IN GREECE
In Greece
I remember and meet
myself everywhere
I am Socrates questioning
I am the athlete striving
the architect planning
the builder building, the potter shaping
the sculptor seeking, the warrior dying
and the poet pointing
In Greece
I am all men and all gods as well
and I remember
How many times in this life alone
I have pushed the rock endlessly uphill
Carried the world on my shoulders
Had my liver eaten by the savage bird
How many times
I have fallen in love with my own
reflection
Reached out for the sweet grapes and
sweet water
to find them moving always beyond my
grasp
Been forced to echo only what others
have said
Tied myself to the mast to resist the
siren’s call
Fought in a thousand wars
full out on the open field or sea
or hidden in the belly of a wooden horse
GREECE – INDEPENDENCE DAY 2000
GREECE – INDEPENDENCE DAY 2000
We stand in the sunlight of Athens
birthplace of democracy, philosophy
theatre and reason
Here man first learned true freedom
Created gods
in the image of his vices and his virtues
and learned to embrace and best them all
Stores in Athens close for the parade
people gather from miles around
For hours past the viewing stand
soldiers and sailors march in step
Overhead the jets and choppers
roar by in strict formation
Thirty deep and more
people push and flow and smile on cue
I search the marchers and the crowd
Looking for that one toga, one book
One independent mind
One ancient Greek
THE SEA
THE SEA
In two days
three hours on the friendly sea
Back and forth from Mykonos to Delos
past rocks with good seats for sirens
rocking in a cradle still rocking
since the gods were young
Feeling the wake of the island
where she floated invisible in the mists
before agreeing to dig in her feet
and challenge the jealous Hera
providing Leto a birthplace for the
ever grateful Apollo and Artemis
Feeling their blessings
ICARUS UNBOUND
ICARUS UNBOUND
Within the greater urge
of man to soar and fly
It is not uncommon
that some may try and die
Salmon must return to spawn
birds must south and northward fly
The Buddha and the Christ
give focus to the martyr’s eye
The fault lies not
in these unalterable things
But in the material
with which he built the wings