The last love note from Paris
Part 2 of The Trojan Chronicles: imagining what Paris was thinking of saying to Helen as he lay fatally wounded. Part of a set of poems exploring Troy and the Trojan War
My fate gifted love,
I watch you sleeping,
aging with every breath,
hard lines deepening
upon the map of your face,
rivers, tear filled, mourning a lost youth,
and I, who have drunk from that cursed source,
would bend to kiss,
remind that we are joined,
but I cannot,
the poisoned arrow in my side
bleaching, turning my blood into water.
My life fades, sucked into the sky,
filling the horizon with broken glass,
all that we have shared, now shattered
beneath the heeled Greeks at our gates.
I’m stolen, falling away from you,
just as the pernicious gods had planned,
your unfaithful slopes already tilting west
as I am lead into the middling space,
haunted by the un-suckled milk
curdled within your withered breasts.
I’m sorry I could not hold you,
My hands strung to another’s will.
He should have saved his breath, she was a scheming woman who couldn’t have cared less. Soon after he died she married his brother Deiphobus, betrayed him to her previous husband Menelaus with whom she was happily reunited.
Luigi, they were certainly a bunch of bed-hoppers! The way they carried I’m surprised they knew who they would be waking up to in the morning. I’ve posted Menelaus’ note onto ABC as a counterpart to this soppy note from Paris, and will be following up with Helen’s view as well.
She, a narcissist for sure.
I like the way you have ‘narrated’ this.
Allen
Allen, I tried to borrow Homer’s style, and wanted to lay the ground for Menelaus and Helen’s perspectives by presenting a lovelorn Paris, who, though, is realistic enough to recognise that the woman he has been “awarded” has a heart that blows with the wind – to use a misplaced metaphor -and she will take off with whoever the gods have placed in her path. They were all playthings of the Olympian gods and we can’t really blame them for their character faults, though we can learn from them.
Hmmm I thought Paris was gay 🙂
That, my young G, was Achilles, and I have a poem with his perspective as part of the mini series.
Just my little Paree joke.
I know next to nothing about Greek and Roman mythology
Leaves me cold to be honest
Give me Tolkien’s version of science fiction any day 😉
G, I sidestepped the “gay Paree” you batted down the pitch.
The Odyssey has always fascinated me, and shows that human nature hasn’t changed at all in the last 5000 years. But Tolkien is a favourite; he just carries you into his magical world and it is a wonder. The other writer who has almost the same level of imaginative invention is Mervyn Peake.
read this more than a couple of times, so I am going to add an astronomical comment List of Jupiter trojans (Greek camp) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jupiter_trojans_(Greek_camp) I guess the war is not over and if there’s a trojan falling from the sky that means only one thing The beginning of an Odyssey. so such a mythology is not fairy tales really, at least Greek or Indian mythology they are not. And not only there are african tribes and native american tribes and basically it is common knowledge in the ancient world something may one day be not right out there and then… Read more »
IYP, thank you for the pointer to the Jupiter Trojans; I’m always looking for the new and you have given me an area which looks to be very interesting.
This is good. I’ve been holding back on any comment, instead, coming back to read it again, and to read it aloud (sorry dear wife). It is, I feel, a most worthy addition to the Trojan Wars, and their aftermath. I’m looking forward to reading more – thanks Bhi.
And…Tolkien is not science fiction naughty Guaj! He’s more Norse mythological if I can say such a thing.
Thanks, D. This one was written very much in the Homeric tradition, the rest span across time with styles to suit the messaging.
This seems very much in tune with the ancient tale. Trojan War, straight-up coupling of lust and military action, remains a verdant source of inspiration. Believe i’ll like your series way better than the Brad Pitt movie.
Good to hear from you, CW. The Brad Pitt take was a travesty and did justice to no one. Achilles will put the record straight in his poem later in the series.