opal jasper, #9: poem 3

[sunfright]

Title: POEM 3
Author: S. / sunfright
Color: Opal Jasper, #9: year and a day.
Styles & supplies: Miniature, resin, panorama, silhouette, gesso.
Story: Polyanaktides
Wordcount: ~80
Rating: Gen
Warnings: N/A.
Summary: Imagine it was Gorgo's poetry that survived the ages, rather than Sappho's, exhibit three.

POEM 3



What is a marriage,
If not the last stronghold against carnage?
‘Yoke-mate of Cleina’, they call you,
‘Mine’, I call you, myself.
I am one of very few
Who benefits from your wealth,
Not the gold and silver in your purse,
But your mind and tongue that grow sharper yet
In the passing of the years.
We live the life that the days shall never forget.
‘Yoke-mate of Cleina’, they call you,
While this is the name I, myself, gave you:
‘Eternally mine.’

Comments

[thisbluespirit]

This is also lovely! And I do like this bit: ‘Yoke-mate of Cleina’, they call you,
‘Mine’, I call you, myself.

[sunfright]

Thank you so much! Incidentally, those were the first two lines of the poem I wrote, so they must have been clearest in my mind, too.

[ilthit]

This is evocative; without knowing the story, I'm probably reading it wrong, but I read possessiveness, and the vulnerability of a (noble?) woman in the period, who needs the protection of a husband against the world, while the husband might want a wife and family for stability that also protects him from conflict.

[sunfright]

I honestly believe there is no wrong reading with poetry and I love the images you've gained from this and the store these words weave together for you! Thank you for sharing them with me.

[bookblather]

This is very sweet in a very practical way, which is my favorite love poetry. I agree with thisbluespirit about this being a great line:

"‘Yoke-mate of Cleina’, they call you,
‘Mine’, I call you, myself."