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Thread: The House of Agamemnon

  1. #1
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    The House of Agamemnon

    The House of Agamemnon

    In the house of Agamemnon a corpse light burns
    as he lies abed and dreams of darkness
    and the thrust of flashing bronze,
    the clash of spear and shield,
    and gurgling cries of men.

    In death, he dreams of death,
    those he has meted out in petulance,
    the regality of law and war -
    no justice but his own.
    In his mind, he is immortal,
    though he felt the blows that laid him out upon his pyre,
    he feels them no more.

    In the house of Agamemnon
    the corpse light dances round his royal frame
    reflected in those eyes that stare so blindly at the dark
    and flickers merrily upon the coin between his lips.
    Clytemnestra looks upon his ruin and sighs,
    as her lover sighs, contentedly. Her sister sits
    and sews a robe for Menelaus.

    In the house of Agamemnon it is always late,
    where sons and sisters long for a mother's and a lover's end,
    though it was a sister caused a sister's death.
    See? The night lights, ever burning, never turning,
    when bare footsteps on cold stone, in haste, depart
    and run away to sea, to be pursued,
    up to the gates, by the command of fate.
    Apollo will not intervene.

    Wicks untrimmed, the lamps burn smokily,
    the yellow flames a-flicker in light night airs,
    and the bitter carbon scent of them
    taints the sepulchral gloom
    in the house of Agamemnon.
    Last edited by Hawkman; 11-24-2020 at 04:38 AM.

  2. #2
    On the road, but not! Danik 2016's Avatar
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    Loved it. Was wondering what contemporaneous House of Agamemnon you might have in mind, when you wrote it.
    "I seemed to have sensed also from an early age that some of my experiences as a reader would change me more as a person than would many an event in the world where I sat and read. "
    Gerald Murnane, Tamarisk Row

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    Hi Danik. Thanks for stopping by to read the poem, and for being so good as to let me know that you enjoyed it. Sadly, I can’t admit to having any contemporary house of Agamemnon in mind when I wrote it. I was firmly anchored in classical antiquity, though the corruption of power and its effect on the limited intellect of greed is a fairly timeless observation, and you will find it if you look in the right places.

    Live and be well - H

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    Registered User tailor STATELY's Avatar
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    Enjoyed

    Such a tangled web this tragedy...thank you for revisiting with your deft poem.

    Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
    tailor
    tailor

    who am I but a stitch in time
    what if I were to bare my soul
    would you see me origami

    7-8-2015

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    Hi Tailor, and thank you too for reading.

    live and be well - H

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    It wasn't me Jerrybaldy's Avatar
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    You are a class act Mr Hawk. Classy and classical.

    For those who believe,
    no explanation is necessary.
    For those who do not,
    none will suffice.

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    It wasn't me Jerrybaldy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerrybaldy View Post
    You are a class act Mr Hawk. Classy and classical.
    I like that we are both still around 10 years or more later. Covid hasnt buggered us. Always good to hear from you and read you.

    For those who believe,
    no explanation is necessary.
    For those who do not,
    none will suffice.

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    Cheers, JB. And ditto.

    Live and be well -H

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    Hmmm-- neo-neo-classic maybe? Most interesting structure -- a variation on the sestina form? I hear echoes of Swinburne too (but maybe that's just me.) This is not to say that the piece is derivative.

    In any event, given the worldwide malaise and malady, good to see your presence on these webpages. Here's ho[ing you remain relatively happy and psychologically immune from the Zeitgeist and all that.

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    Hi Auntie, thanks for stopping by. After a hiatus of several years, I was moved to write something. This was the result. It felt good to produce again. Most of my energies are devoted to survival these days. Gets harder to do things every day as fresh bits of me protest against any form of exercise. Such is my punishment for having survived this long... Hope all is well with you too. Nil desperandum, and all that. What America needs is for the left to learn to love the gun! Why should Republicans have all the fun of killing people who disagree with them, or just happen to be in the way? Let’s see the democrats assassinate a president or two. Even the score

    Live and be well - H
    Last edited by Hawkman; 11-28-2020 at 03:08 PM.

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