gifts from the gods

7/30/2019 Gifts from the Gods

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Gifts from the Gods

Laura Clipson


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Gifts from the Gods

First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Clipson Press

Copyright Laura Clipson 2013

The right of Laura Clipson to be identified as the author of this

work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright,

Design and Patents Act of 1988

All rights reserved

Acknowledgements:

Special thanks to Emj Goodchild for her front cover image design,

and to the Greeks for their many stories and mythological roots.


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Pandora

Punishment disguised; a gift

in the form of a woman, the first

created by the gods. Presented

to the titans for their sin:

sharing the gods fire

with men. Named Pandora,all gifted, with beauty,

cunning, dexterity, mischief

and curiosity.

A final gift; a box she

was never to open.

Curiosity overcame her;

Zeus looked on, gleeful.

The lid was lifted;

from the box spewed

the evils of humanity.

Hope came last, the only light

in a world of darkness.


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Arachne

A beautiful girl,

renowned for her gift;

weaving tapestries

so wonderful,

nymphs gather

to see her spin.

Vanity overcomes;

she believes she

is the best.

Athena, famous for

her own weavings,

challenges her.

Arachne accepts;

the two women

sit at their looms

and spin, as

nymphs and gods

gaze in awe.


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Athena weaves

a magnificent tapestry,

proudly showing the

gods in their glory,

surrounded by

foolish mortals.

Arachne weaves

a stunning tapestry,

defiantly

displaying the

transgressions

of the gods.

Furious and offended

by Arachnesdisrespect, Athena

tears apart the

tapestry, and

slaps the girl.


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Appalled by her

actions, Arachne

hangs herself. A

shocked Athena,

full of guilt,

takes pity.

She gifts Arachne

life, at a price;

her head shrinks,

hair falls out,

and nimble fingers

become long legs.

For your vanity,

says the goddess,You are destined

to hang and

spin forever

as a spider.


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Icarus

Newfound wings, stretched to their fullest extent,

Created to flee, from wax and feathers.

Beating his wings, he begins his ascent,

Releasing him from his earthly tethers.

He soars through the sky, his mind filled with glee,As his previous troubles are undone.

Higher he flies over the rough blue sea,

Getting closer and closer to the sun.

The feathers fall off, the wax dripping slow,

As he struggles to stay up in the sky.

He plummets into the waters below,

Realising his plan has gone awry.

Sinking beneath the waves, a lesson learnt;

Fly too close to the sun, and youll be burnt.


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Lamia

Mistress of a God,

punished by his wife.

Maddened with grief

by her childrens deaths,

relentlessly haunted by

the image of their bodies,lifeless. Zeus took pity,

gifting her the ability

to remove her eyes,

freeing her from the sight.

Transformed by her grief;

part woman, part snake,

a monster, seeking vengeance

on the children of others,

for the loss of her own.

A threat by tired mothers;

Behave, or Lamia shall visit

in the dead of night,

and devour you whole,

while you dream.


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The Fates

Three old crones, loyal to Zeus,

weaving life as they see fit:

one spins, one measures,

one cuts the thread of life.

Feared, not only by mortals,

but by the gods they serve.

The Furies

Emerging from blood, shed

when son castrated father;

three women, eyes dripping red,

waists twined with serpents.

Their duty: avenging crimes

by cursing with insanity.


10/27

Midas

A wish granted

for a job done well;

creation of gold,

with a single touch.

Endless possibilities,

the ability to bericher, greater

than any man.

Start off small,

a twig, a stone;

solid gold.

A feast to celebrate

newfound power;

solid gold.

Loyal servants,

trying to help,

solid gold.

A loving daughter,

offering comfort,

solid gold.


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The perfect wish;

a curse in disguise.

Sitting alone, in his

golden mansion,

unable to eat, drink,

or love.


12/27

Medea

A curse from the gods;

doomed to love one

who cannot, will not love me.

Compelled to perform cruel acts

for this unrequited love.

My sorcery helps him

to procure the golden fleece;

I betray my father, kill my brother,

turn on my family for the man

I am destined to adore.

In Iolcus, his throne awaits,

the usurper seated comfortably.

With witchcraft I trick his daughters

into killing their own father,

so my love may claim his throne.


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In Corinth, two children I bear him,

but he desires another, a princess.

A jealous rage; I send a wedding gift

laced with poison. She burns alive,

and takes her father, the King, with her.

I slaughter our children, to

hurt him, like he hurt me,

and to spare them the shame

of a murderous mother

and a cowardly father.


14/27

Keres

Enticed by bloodshed

they circle like vultures

searching for the dead, or dying.

Hateful spirits of death

tearing soul from body

to banish to Hades.

Sirens

Doomed to wreck upon the rocks

under the spell of the Sirens song

no man can resist their haunting music

and many a ship has been lost

to the beautiful winged maidens lullaby.


15/27

Bellerophontes

The golden bridle

delivered in a dream;

a gift from the gods,

clutched tightly

in shaking hands.

The winged beautygrazing peacefully.

Leaping onto

the horses back,

he slipped the bridle

over his handsome head,

and Pegasus surrendered

to his new Master.

Together they rode,

defeating the

terrible chimera,

becoming heroes,

worshipped by all.

Gifted a wife

and kingdom,


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a perfect life,

but not enough.

Craving adventure,

he rode Pegasus

to Mount Olympus,

home of the gods.

Furious at the arrogance

of this mortal,

Zeus sent a gadfly.

Stung, Pegasus bucked;

his rider was lost.

Crippled and alone,

forsaken by the gods,

he wandered the Earth

for the rest of his days,

searching for his steed.


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Cronus

Child of Earth and Sky;

Time, youngest of the titans

consumed by envy and greed,

castrated his father, using a sickle,

the desired power obtained.

Into the sea the jewels were discarded;

the furies born from the blood,

while the goddess of love sprang forth from the foam.

Powerful, wed to his sister, Rhea

paranoia overcame, and fear;

of betrayal by those he spawned,

of a cycle of sons versus fathers.

Devoured as infants, no chance for treachery,

the mother, horrified, protected the youngest.

Deceived by a boulder wrapped in swaddling clothes,

he swallowed, believing himself safe.


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Hidden from the father,

until the time came to realise his fears;

son versus father, Zeus conquered Time,

his siblings disgorged from their dark prison.

They divided the world between them;

Poseidon ruled the seas,

Hades ruled the underworld

and Zeus, the saviour, ruled the skies and the gods.


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Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla, stunning nymph loved by a sea god,

but he was loved by sorceress Circe.

She poisoned the water Scylla bathed in,

creating a beast with her jealousy.

Charybdis, nymph daughter of Poseidon,punished by Zeus for the theft of his land,

drowning it with water from the ocean

causing her fathers Kingdom to expand.

Scylla, with her six heads and shark like teeth,

placed along a narrow strait of water

Charybdis, the whirlpool placed alongside

anyone that approached would be slaughtered.

A choice between these two monsters of doom,

either could send you to your waiting tomb.


20/27

Orpheus

A gifted minstrel, taught by Apollo

his music enthralling to all who heard,

superior to the song of the sirens,

who were known for their destructive powers.

Besotted with Eurydice, a beautiful nymph,

they married, living together in bliss for a time.One day glimpsed by Aristaeus,

who desired her for his own.

He pursued her, and in her haste to flee;

stepped on a deadly snake, and lived no more.

Distraught, Orpheus resolved to bring her back

and ventured to the gates of the underworld.

Enchanted by his music, Hades agreed

to bestow life upon Eurydice,

though there was one condition:

Orpheus could not look upon her,

until she left the shadows of the underworld.

He led her through the dark, twisting tunnels

tormented by her footsteps behind him.


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In his eagerness to see his beloved wife,

he turned to her the moment he left the shadows,

but because she had not yet reached the light,

she was taken back to the underworld, eternally.

Heartbroken, he swore never to love again;

resentful women dismembered him,

his remains strewn into a river,

the head still singing mournfully.

Finally, in death, reunited with his beloved.


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Persephone

Beloved daughter of Demeter,

goddess of spring growth

snatched from a meadow,

taken to the underworld

as bride of Hades.

A mother in despair

searched the earth

for her beloved daughter,

discovered the betrayal

of Hades and Zeus.

Enraged, she

spurned her duties,

let the earth decline

until the return

of Persephone.


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Zeus succumbed,

however Persephone

had tasted the fruit

of Hades, so could

not leave forever.

A compromise:

six months on Earth

with her mother,

six months in the underworld

with her husband.

Spring and summer

spent with Demeter,her happiness

marked by growth

of flowers and grain.


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Autumn and winter

spent with Hades,

while the earth declined

as growth halted

until next spring.


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The Underworld

Hermes, the messenger god, stands before me,

ready to perform his duty: to deliver my soul.

He grasps my hand and we launch into the skies,

and I understand, now, his swift reputation.

We soar through the air, light as a feather;

I do not look back at the body I leave behind.

We travel through the inky black, above lands

unknown to the living, until we reach the place

that leads to the eternal home of the dead.

We land in front of the mouth of the cave,

waiting to swallow me whole.

Deeper we travel through the earth;

our footsteps echo deafeningly off the

menacing stone that surrounds us.

I hear the sound of surging water

and know I am close to my goal.

The messenger god gestures me forward

before flitting back, his task complete.


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There stands the fearsome ferryman,

hook-nosed and bearded, palm outstretched.

I hand him my coin, he turns to the boat

drifting on the water. I climb aboard;

the boat cuts swiftly through the river

heading for a far bank on the other side.

Once we reach land, I leave the boat;

he sails back, to wait for his next crossing.

The gates of the underworld tower before me,

with Cerberus the hell hound to guard them.

Three pairs of eyes watch me fiercely as I pass

through the gate, barred to all but the dead.

I walk through the cavernous tunnel

and encounter a great meadow,

in which thousands of souls arewandering aimlessly, empty shells

with no memory of their former lives.


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I leave the meadow and follow the path,

eventually reaching a fork in the road.

One path is brightly lit, and I hear

the faint sounds of celebration.

The other is in darkness, and I hear

the distant sounds of screaming and pain.

Three men appear in front of me; the judges,

ready to sentence me to my fate.

Their faces grim, my heart fills with fear;

am I condemned to reside in the darkest

of dark places, punished and alone?

Their faces lift, and they joyfully gesture

towards the light passageway.

Relief floods through me, and I follow

the path until I reach my paradise.

gifts from the gods

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