The Gift

alice mythologizes, alice poeticizes 1 Minute

“Eurydice, dying now a second time, uttered no complaint against her husband. What was there to complain of, but that she had been loved?”
— Ovid, Metamorphoses


Disregard what poets tell you. 
They hear the thump of their own hearts
and think they have discovered a universe.
Or presume that my beloved, musician to the gods
who never flubbed an entrance in his life,
might in eagerness miscount the beats remaining
to lift his wife back out of death.
Turn for me too soon, an accident.

You living march toward darkness
like a parade, joyous and cacophonous
and blind. Whereas I have already worn my shroud.
And I have already tasted ashes.
The sunlight you steep in cannot thaw bones
already chill with such fore-knowledge.

See the truth. In his final triumphant crescendo,
Orpheus heard a single word fall
from my mouth like a stone:

“Turn.”

And true love did. 

~e alice isak

Published by Alice

I cook; I write; I feminist.

Published

13 thoughts on “The Gift”

  1. Holy Depth Perception, Batgirl! Everything about this/these are delicious & nourishing.
    I’m currently playing with six other art journal artists in a round robin. This month I received “Spin Me a Fairy Tale” from Carina in Virginia. Part of her instructions to us reads: “The voices of the girls & women were hushed. Talk too much & be forward in your opinions, you are most likely to be portrayed as one of the Bad Ones. In this book, we are the storytellers. This is our chance to shape the narrative…”
    Is it any wonder I thought of you?

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    1. Ohhh, I love that prompt! And how wonderful to have other art journalers to collaborate with. My myth & fairy tales project is also done in tandem with another writer – a friend who’s a playwright.

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. I wonder that myself sometimes! I do all my editing by reading aloud, over and over, so I know how a piece sounds in -my- head – but no way to tell how it will sound in someone else’s…

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    1. Thank you! Started out expecting to go in a very different direction (I’ve been thinking about Eurydice a lot lately!) but pleased with the twist it took – and glad to hear it works for others too!

      Liked by 1 person

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