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Leda's Swan Song

General Poetry - post, comment, review, critique
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indar
Posts: 2908
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:00 am

Leda's Swan Song

Post by indar » Sun May 23, 2021 9:57 am

This time even the swan was diddled
by a shower of gold (and all that glitters):
the story is nothing new.

A cygnet along with swan-mother
slid the length of the sluice box
while John the Donkey plods his circular course
circumscribed on this rolling earth.

So now there are three plus the gilded one
on the parade route lined with palm fronds
that wound to that distant city,
recreated in home-towns
to entertain self-proclaimed devout

whose palms-up supplications come with a price:
Oh make me your faithful servant Lord
adoration exchanged for grace
and success in the market, Praise be.

The choir sings hallelujah,
this stuff is beyond corruption,

the diddled sing Woody Guthrie.

Woody Guthrie- This Land Is Your Land - YouTube

I posted the last iteration of this one 2018 it keeps getting more relevant in my estimation. Note the sign on Woody's guitar

Matty11
Posts: 1585
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:58 pm

Re: Leda's Swan Song

Post by Matty11 » Mon May 24, 2021 2:01 am

I'm  a little foggy headed on this one Linda. I'm guessing a tale of wildlife taking a misguided trip in human contraptions for S1/S2. The donkey trapped in a 'circular' life. And the humans also ensnared by 'glitter', the illusions of 'value'.

best

Phil

indar
Posts: 2908
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:00 am

Re: Leda's Swan Song

Post by indar » Mon May 24, 2021 3:47 pm

I wrote a fairly different version of this a long time ago not quite knowing myself what i was talking about. I since have decided it can best be summed up as the ways in which "gold lust" can cause the unscrupulous to exploit others. Donkeys, for me, symbolize the bottom rung of exploited labor be it human or animal. Zeus rapes Leda but even the authority of gods can be turned to one's purpose in the act of exploitation.

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Colm Roe
Posts: 2697
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 12:45 am

Re: Leda's Swan Song

Post by Colm Roe » Wed May 26, 2021 7:00 pm

Not sure about this one Linda.
I had heard about that piece of mythology, and the various artistic interpretations of the event.
But I'm having great difficulty trying to combine all the elements cohesively...maybe that's just me.

Dave
Posts: 1991
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2018 9:07 am

Re: Leda's Swan Song

Post by Dave » Thu May 27, 2021 9:55 am

I admire the bravery in this poem, creating myth and mystery in a poem without explaining; simply letting the metaphors stand for themselves. And yet, it is a little too abstracted to truly jump off the page. It requires a stronger narrative drive perhaps to give the animals some life of their own
Dave

indar
Posts: 2908
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:00 am

Re: Leda's Swan Song

Post by indar » Sun May 30, 2021 4:18 pm

I am in the grips of some kind of lethargy. I look at what I've written and it makes me tired. Thank you guys for your comments. I think I'm most engaged in my writing when it's just straight-up plain spoken narrative and attempts to do otherwise just wears me out. I've been gardening. Before long I will have a harvest large enough to experiment with fried green tomatoes (yes, it's really a thing). Maybe I'll write a poem about that.

Dave
Posts: 1991
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2018 9:07 am

Re: Leda's Swan Song

Post by Dave » Mon May 31, 2021 8:08 am

Linda
You are being a bit harsh on yourself. These are the kinds of poems that are good to write because actually they stretch the commonplace of one's writing and other's reading into something interesting. It is your lack of confidence in it that perhaps holds it back.

Dave
 

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