Siren Song - Inspired by Homer's Odyssey

“She loved a man once too,” she said,
pointing to the moon,
“She sang the most beautiful songs.”

“She followed his raft for miles.
She watched him fall in love,
Then wrench himself away
Only to do it all over again -
(Men never learn, do they?)
She watched her sisters try to lure him
To a deep and silent grave.
She watched, unable to show herself
(What is a shadow if there is no light?)
She tracked the raft for miles
Spent sleepless nights sparring with sharks,
Poseidon’s youngest nephews,
Steered the man’s boat out of maelstroms
And into the rising sun.
She was small and powerless,
But why else do you think he lived?
She watched him rejoice with his wife in his arms,
She celebrated with him.
We had to hold her back by force
From dancing onto the rocks.
She struggled and wept in our arms,
Even her screams were beautiful:
So many men died that night.

We watched her swim away, listening to her broken heart.

She wept silently - afraid the sound of her voice would beckon her beloved to his death.
She swam into the sapphire sea,
Where the stars bled into the water,
We watched her climb her way
Into the starry canvas.
I saw her hurl herself
at the shimmering crescent noose,
The sizzle of water hitting fire, the smell of burnt hair…
I watched her right herself
And look toward the shores of Ithaca...
And saw, reflected in her eyes,
The man whom she so loved,
Sitting on the rocky coast with his arm lovingly around his wife.
He looked up at the sky;
For the first time, she saw him see her.
He held his wife close and whispered to her,
‘Look, the moon is almost as beautiful
As you look tonight.’

I felt her smile her radiant smile
And for a second, the sky blazed white
All the stars were blotted out, outshone by a brighter star.”