
Penelope’s Choice
Posted by: Maria Atalanti
Published on: 09/09/2020
Back to BlogThe daughters of Nereus
brought, by the waves,
to the shore of Ithaca
deposited their father’s gleaming gem
on the beach.
For centuries now they used to play
with the humans’ desire
for glittering acquisitions.
As soon as a mortal, full of praise,
took the gem to show it to his friends
this would become a piece of coal,
his hands would become black
and his soul would wither from the people’s mockery.
The daughters of Nereus would then ride
again, on the waves
and with the gem in their palms
would start looking for another shore
to play.
An eternal endless game.
On the shore of Ithaca
Penelope was playing.
She was not a woman; she was not a child.
She was at the beginning of puberty.
The gem shined in her eyes,
and the Nereids, were laughing secretly
behind the foam of the waves.
Penelope reached out and took it.
Like lighting the desire of her life
raised in her memory.
She ran to leave the gem
at the feet of Athena Pallas
and simply said:
— For you Goddess.
Nereus’ daughters were scared.
They could never again get the gem back.
They had lost it forever.
Frightened they dived into the waves and vanished.
Penelope had a clear look
And when she faced the Goddess
she was not scared.
-Your gift is rare, Penelope.
Rare and treasured.
What do you want from me?
– Goddess, I wish the time of my wedding
not to be given to a man.
even if he is a king
even if he is a nobleman,
but to the MAN.
That is what my heart desires
That is what I ask.
That is what I choose.
-Penelope,
the voice of the Goddess
was vibrating in the space and everything was swaying.
– Penelope do not ask for anything above
the human
because the price
will be superhuman.
– I choose Goddess
and I will pay the price.
-Penelope, I am warning you
you are to be hurt, you are going to break
you are going to split in two.
– I choose Goddess and
I will pay the price.
– Penelope, no one can have
the MAN for life
because he is above life.
-I choose Goddess and
I am content with mere nuggets of perfection…
— Let it be, then!
The voice echoed
and in Ithaca there was an earthquake.
…………………………………………………………
Penelope, the queen of Ithaca
was looking at the sea silently.
The suitors were getting drunk in the courtyard
craving for Penelope to be their wife.
She was waiting for the MAN.
She awaited twenty years
And now she felt that that the time had come.
If his name was Ulysses
If he was a king
It did not matter.
If he was the legend of Greece
It did not matter either.
He was the MAN.
The flesh, the spirit, the heart.
He was the wholeness.
She was waiting for him.
And the suitors in the courtyard…
They were the remnants of mediocrity.
………………………………………………………..
From the bridal bed
And through the open window
Penelope was looking at the moon.
Besides her Ulysses.
The MAN.
She smiled happily.
– Helen, she whispered, you caused
a war
but I won it.
And she fell asleep.
It was the time of performance
August 15, 200
If you want to read the relevant myth, follow the link below:
Editing in English by Andreas Markides
Very nice!
Thank you, Jacob