Upon a Mountaintop in Greece
FC 10/19/13
Orpheus
singer and poet beyond all others
offspring of Calliope
and perhaps the son of a god
began his climb
to the temple of Dionysus
though he worshiped none but the Sun
As he ascended
some maidens joined him
forming a procession
some walked behind him
and some led
The maidens wore gossamer robes
that sometimes shimmered in the morning light
and sometimes the light shone through
Some of the women
carried cages full of doves
or birds of song
one led a lamb
another a fawn
and one pulled geese behind
another led some ducks
and even a swan
came along
golden baskets laden
with all manners of fruit
and vessels full of wine
the maidens carried
Thus the poet
passed the hours of his climb
in conversation with his fair companions
One, perhaps the most lovely of them all
asked him
“Are you the one called Orpheus?
Who sings and speaks such sweet words
and harps so well
that none can ignore
your godlike spell?”
Without a hesitation
he replied,
“I have no equal
in music nor in verse.
I have beguiled all souls
of Heaven, Hell, and Earth.”
So gazing at the maidens
he walked up the mountainside
No, he was not blind
though he took no comfort in women
since his bride, Eurydice succumbed
victim of the satyr
and the serpents
She, taken down to the underworld
and left behind
But atop the mountain
near dusk
Orpheus and the maidens
at the temple of Dionysus
sat in a meadow
kissed by all manner of spring flowers
The poet sang
and spoke words of beauty
beyond what all others might speak
The maidens gathered round him
listening, it seemed
as he sang
recited
and stroked his harp
Though the women, feigned delight
in their eyes
no worship could be found
for Orpheus
or his arts
Then the full moon rose
blood red in the sky
Orpheus sang and sang
and drank wine
more and more
as the fires roared
The maidens undulated
to some unheard sound it seemed
the moonlight shining through their robes
the colors gem-like
green, red, blue, and silver
reflected off the cloth
As the night wore on and on
Orpheus hunger began to grow
as if by magic
the maidens seemed to know his mind
Within his view
one reached inside the cage of doves
then, while staring in the poet's eyes
she snapped the neck of the bird
so that he heard the “crack”
then she yanked the feathers off
and with the sharpest knife
gutted the creature
and when she had done
licked her fingers
Three doves upon a spit
were prepared for him
And he asked
the most beautiful maiden
who kept near him
all through the day
and the night
if she were not hungry
for three doves
fed barely one that hungered such as he
and certainly not two
But she shook her head
and said, “These are made especially for you.
I have no love for the flesh
of doves
touched by such fiery flames.”
So, Orpheus ate
while the women waited upon him
filling his cup with wine
every time its contents vanished
Then sated
again, he sang and sang
spoke his poems
harped
Again the women danced
again, the music not his
but as if they moved
to some rhythm of the moon
until, too drunk to sing or stroke
another note
he stopped
With that
his most beautiful companion
straddled him
and took his hands in hers
her eyes promised much
as did her thighs
Though Orpheus thought
to keep his love for his wife pure
What harm could a kiss or two do
On such a night as this?
The mist had begun to settle on the mountaintop
and would not such contact warm him?
The beauty leaned down
her mouth swollen with desire
her lips red
and wet
closer and closer she leaned into him
but instead of easing toward his lips
she found his neck
and ripped the thin skin there
with the sharpest teeth
Orpheus tried to escape
but the women then swarmed over him
He tried to scream
but one woman bit his lips
and silenced him
They pulled and pulled at his limbs
as if he were one of the doves
and no matter how he struggled
he could not move
from their clutches
Then, in the moonlight
with his eyes
grown huge with fright
Orpheus saw
one of the maidens had a knife
she carved away at him
he felt his arm give
and pull away
and another arm
and a leg, and another
all this he saw
until his eyes
were filmed with blood
Then, he breathed his last
as a maiden
carved away his head
The maidens spent some days
upon the mountaintop
They sent the head of Orpheus
downstream
floating
where two women found it
first imagining it a dream
For some days
all the voices of nature
unheard
for the wailing of the mortals
for the greatest of the bards.
FC 10/19/13
Orpheus
singer and poet beyond all others
offspring of Calliope
and perhaps the son of a god
began his climb
to the temple of Dionysus
though he worshiped none but the Sun
As he ascended
some maidens joined him
forming a procession
some walked behind him
and some led
The maidens wore gossamer robes
that sometimes shimmered in the morning light
and sometimes the light shone through
Some of the women
carried cages full of doves
or birds of song
one led a lamb
another a fawn
and one pulled geese behind
another led some ducks
and even a swan
came along
golden baskets laden
with all manners of fruit
and vessels full of wine
the maidens carried
Thus the poet
passed the hours of his climb
in conversation with his fair companions
One, perhaps the most lovely of them all
asked him
“Are you the one called Orpheus?
Who sings and speaks such sweet words
and harps so well
that none can ignore
your godlike spell?”
Without a hesitation
he replied,
“I have no equal
in music nor in verse.
I have beguiled all souls
of Heaven, Hell, and Earth.”
So gazing at the maidens
he walked up the mountainside
No, he was not blind
though he took no comfort in women
since his bride, Eurydice succumbed
victim of the satyr
and the serpents
She, taken down to the underworld
and left behind
But atop the mountain
near dusk
Orpheus and the maidens
at the temple of Dionysus
sat in a meadow
kissed by all manner of spring flowers
The poet sang
and spoke words of beautybeyond what all others might speak
The maidens gathered round him
listening, it seemed
as he sang
recited
and stroked his harp
Though the women, feigned delight
in their eyes
no worship could be found
for Orpheus
or his arts
Then the full moon rose
blood red in the sky
Orpheus sang and sang
and drank wine
more and more
as the fires roared
The maidens undulated
to some unheard sound it seemed
the moonlight shining through their robes
the colors gem-like
green, red, blue, and silver
reflected off the cloth
As the night wore on and on
Orpheus hunger began to grow
as if by magic
the maidens seemed to know his mind
Within his view
one reached inside the cage of doves
then, while staring in the poet's eyes
she snapped the neck of the bird
so that he heard the “crack”
then she yanked the feathers off
and with the sharpest knife
gutted the creature
and when she had done
licked her fingers
Three doves upon a spit
were prepared for him
And he asked
the most beautiful maiden
who kept near him
all through the day
and the night
if she were not hungry
for three doves
fed barely one that hungered such as he
and certainly not two
But she shook her head
and said, “These are made especially for you.
I have no love for the flesh
of doves
touched by such fiery flames.”
So, Orpheus ate
while the women waited upon him
filling his cup with wine
every time its contents vanished
Then sated
again, he sang and sang
spoke his poems
harped
Again the women danced
again, the music not his
but as if they moved
to some rhythm of the moon
until, too drunk to sing or stroke
another note
he stopped
With that
his most beautiful companion
straddled him
and took his hands in hers
her eyes promised much
as did her thighs
Though Orpheus thought
to keep his love for his wife pure
What harm could a kiss or two do
On such a night as this?
The mist had begun to settle on the mountaintop
and would not such contact warm him?
The beauty leaned down
her mouth swollen with desire
her lips red
and wet
closer and closer she leaned into him
but instead of easing toward his lips
she found his neck
and ripped the thin skin there
with the sharpest teeth
Orpheus tried to escape
but the women then swarmed over him
He tried to scream
but one woman bit his lips
and silenced him
They pulled and pulled at his limbs
as if he were one of the doves
and no matter how he struggled
he could not move
from their clutches
Then, in the moonlight
with his eyes
grown huge with fright
Orpheus saw
one of the maidens had a knife
she carved away at him
he felt his arm give
and pull away
and another arm
and a leg, and another
all this he saw
until his eyes
were filmed with blood
Then, he breathed his last
as a maiden
carved away his head
The maidens spent some days
upon the mountaintop
They sent the head of Orpheus
downstream
floating
where two women found it
first imagining it a dream
For some days
all the voices of nature
unheard
for the wailing of the mortals
for the greatest of the bards.
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