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Not very epic
Penelope pauses in her unpicking and thinks what the fuck
Penelope pauses and pictures Oddie and wonders as to luck
Penelope remembers how he always preferred his mates
Penelope puts down her fibre, and grabs a fist of dates
Penelope recalls and recoils at the portrait of that absent groom
Penelope thinks she prefers the silence, and her loomy room
Penelope calls to the Moirai to finally cut the thread
Penelope sighs and yawns, and goes to comfy bed
Penelope pats Argos, who has jumped up for a pat
Penelope sleeps. That’s her story. Just a this then that.
Mikaela Castledine #166 ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ inspired this one. That and having the first name Penelope.
I love this poem. The first line is such a shock. And funny. Do you know the book, The Scattered Papers of Penelope by Greek poet Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke. I bought the book based on its title and wished I knew more of her work. Your poem sent me scouting for the book so I would spell her name correctly.
ReplyDeleteHere are the first few lines of her poem 'Penelope says'
ReplyDeleteI wasn't weaving, I wasn't knitting
I was writing something
erasing and being erased
under the weight of the word
because perfect expression is blocked
when the inside is pressured by pain.
Thank you for that, Susan. I will chase that up when I am released from daily poem detention! She is such a rewritten figure; Atwood's The Penelopiad (novella) springs to mind.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten the Atwood but read it some years back.
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DeleteI love your realistic Penelope too, Penelope. And wasn't aware of the Atwood; will look for it.
ReplyDeletePS Susan, the volume you quote sounds very interesting too.
DeleteGlad you do, Rosemary. Rhyme and I have a fairly distant relationship!
DeleteI also have a poem (published in one of my books) which has P as a zombie, which was fun.
Delete'Oddie' totally cracked me up.
DeleteOooh. I'm going to look for the Penelope as zombie poem - that does sound fun! I love the first line in this one, particularly. And I relate....such a feminine role and one that feels really good to tip over.
ReplyDelete