Ehoiai, ab initio, a mythic adventure
Her ineluctable desiderata for ideas stream
limning kinetic edifications, epiphanies of delight
fillips inspire pluralistic inquiries
ontology fueling her eclectic explorations
Clepsydra drives the mechanism
six thousand years measured
by the gentle flow of water
Transgressions of the mother fate her imprisonment
vulnerable, potent mind now chained to rock
threatened by encroaching ignorance, a dark sea monster
Cetus, chaos destroying without empathy or thought
Emphatic supernal delights contrast
her now inchoate existence
astronomical phenomena’s illumination ends
her passions lie dormant in temporal restraints
awaiting the beneficence of another to redeem
visions of her life flourishing, counteracting paucity
She scries the approaching hero
his nuanced seriatim a lapidary poetry
magnanimous meticulist denaturing her world view
illuminating prescient symbols, signs of her release
Perseus invisible arrives to slay the beast
his artistry Al-Jazari’s castle clock
zenith of invention, mystical implements
obliterate pernicious vitiation
striking the sea creature eristic clashes ensue
Perseus claims victory
Epicyclic gearing turns celestial spheres
concentric annulus, planet carrier and sun enmesh
liberty returns to Andromeda as numinous globes
enticing clouds of thoughts, igniting quixotic ruminations
Promises of consummate affinity traverse
ardent declarations of diaphanous happiness
fertile fields of creation birthing philosophies, art, and science
stereographic projection starcharts of their noetic constellations
Chromapoetica 
Love the energy. You are like an Al-Jazari of poetry –that said, this is the only time I remember a bump in the road of any of your otherwise smooth poems — the overlaying of the metaphor of Perseus with a simile — maybe I am being too academically over-reactive — but I am not much of an academic — so just my instinct reacts and this one line is a tad overdone.
That said, love this poem, the energy and forward motion and your unique construction and employment of almost architectural poetic devices.
I can see your point, in my ‘architecture’ I was trying to carry images of the waterclocks through and may have overdone it there. I’m glad you enjoyed the rest of it, thank you for your comment and helpful feedback!
i think you do blend it well…i fell in love with the story with the original clash of the titans…which hooked me at an early age into mythology and tale…i do think the clock imagery works as well…i like it…
Thanks Brian, I just got home so I guess I better get linked up :).
Great imagery, Anna. A wonderful write.
Thank you Ayala, I look forward to reading your poem :).
Anna, I love the piece. I’m a big fan of myth and any work steeped in mythological fundamentals is a winner in my book, but the way you worked through this write is, at a risk of understatement, spectacular. In as such I’ve always found mythology as metaphor an exceptionally keen device, and I love the metaphor on display here.
The opening line is great. Short line, but so many words behind the references, all the while standing solid as a prologue-so key in Greek Drama. Use of Catalogue is tremendous and multifaceted itself. Ab initio sounds so beautiful as compared to from the start.
Then we have the following connections: Water Clock: Cetus-Sea Monster in myth, constellation in astronomy’s water- So many layers I love it.
I have to admit I didn’t know of Al-Jazari- Kind of thought it was a play on words with the television station at first, but after I looked it up, pretty fascinating person. The clock imagery definitely flows through, offering both metaphor, structure and a certain kind of consistency in itself, mirroring in a way the consistency of the Perseus tale.
Each section is special, but those last few, well, they’re something else. Can’t state how much I enjoyed the piece. Thanks
Fred, I always appreciate your involvement with the work, noticing the connections and the metaphoric layers, along with the structure, I’m honored. I was excited to find the fragments of Ehoiai this morning and agree that ab initio is very beautiful. As to Al-Jazari I’m so glad you looked him up, a polymath whose castle clock could be considered the first programmable analog computer. So wonderful you loved it and spectacular is a treasured compliment!
Hi anna
your poetry is ambitious and distinctive and therefore challenging – and beautiful too
a mighty combination 🙂
Thanks Arron, I read your piece through and watched the video but need more time with it before commenting. I’ll be by tomorrow :). I really appreciate you stopping by.
I’m here for my dessert, and I must say, I like it with all the whipped cream and hot fudge word sauce very much. Your experimental pieces are always dazzling to me, often forcing me to come back to appreciate, but this one is straightforward, albeit gloriously ornate. I find my favorite line to be “…She scries the approaching hero/ his nuanced seriatim a lapidary poetry/ magnanimous meticulist..” which feeds into the idea of his arts to free her being smooth and inexorable as a magical clock–and “…planet carrier and sun enmesh/ liberty returns to Andromeda as numinous globes..” is my next favorite–I’ve said it aloud a few times–it tastes delicious!
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed your desert. Yes, as experimental pieces go this one is a bit tamer but I tried to infuse it with the same level of artistry. I’m so glad you saw how those lines connected to his arts and the clock (I didn’t want to retell it with Perseus wielding a giant sword, ugh). Awesome feedback and thanks for the savoring.
darn it! I followed this one so much more easily than the others and thought my intellect was finally catching up. lol. Oh well 😉
Hahaha! I think you’re super smart lady! Thanks so much for stopping by :).
Free your mind, the rest will follow and be heavenly? Or, just wait until the crystal ball shows a hero on the way! 😉
Nice ;).
Actually enjoyed this and thought it was kind of fun. I only had to look up one word. My four years of Latin, taken so long ago seems to be fading into a forgotten memory, only rearing some sort of shadow as I heard Italians speaking in Rome. That old vocabulary gave me the gist of conversation without the full substance. “seriatim” seemed to have slipped out of my working one, however.
I did know about the clock maker. I have a “thing” for time. Your pieces are always quite novel, and they stretch my own noetic (if that’s proper usage??). Thank you.
Oh, I’m so glad you already knew about the magnificent water clocks. I believe noesis would be the usage. I do wish I’d had Latin. Thank you Gay, it’s lovely you enjoyed it.
If you’d had Latin, you would leave us all behind. I am ever dumbfounded by the ambition in your work, the resolve of your work, and how you pull us into a linguistic vortex…xxxxj
Thank you Jenne’, that’s a very generous compliment.
You always give my mind such a great workout. Always challenging and rewarding like a long mountain bike ride or climb. And you keep me Googling all the time, but in the end I am always satisfied and entertained and wowed by your abilities. SUPERB!!!!!!!!!
http://henryclemmons.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/the-man-i-am
Henry, I appreciate you take the time and effort, I like challenges. I’ll be by to read your poem soon and thank you for the wonderful compliment!
i have never been a fan of mythology and find myself a little lost in them… but this i enjoyed, yes. definitely.
Thank you Kamana, it’s good to know there’s something on offer here even for those who aren’t fans of mythology, great feedback.
If I have to describe your poem in one word, I would say: epic.
Time, flow, water. It seems like forever. Sea monster – a chaos, blackness, nothing. Threatening to swallow Andromeda chained, waiting, representing wisdom all, waiting, surely to be released. It’s almost a big bang or a supernova after she is rescued – the spread of knowledge, expressed as constellations. I like that, wonderful, it’s like you would look up for guidance and there it all is.
Such rich words you use. I enjoy uncovering their meanings and then trying to see what they mean in the poem. It’s a joy to read your work as always.
Yes, that’s how I saw it Ravenblack, Andromeda means ‘she who has bravery in her mind’ or ‘she who leads’ so her wisdom and creative force are unleashed when she is freed. I like how you’ve compared it to a big bang or supernova. I always appreciate you take the time to uncover the meanings and see how they function within the poem (I do try to write each poem with its own constellation of words so to speak, that interconnect and resonate within the piece). Thank you for your continued reading :)!
A rich tapestry of words indeed. Mythology can sometimes seem ‘awkward’ and ‘too complex’, but its stories only reflect our own weaknesses, shortcomings and ‘humanity’… // Peter.
Yes, I’m learning I am more ‘human’ than I thought, art-making is always a humbling experience for me. Thank you, Peter, your insights are deeply appreciated!
six thousand years measured
by the gentle flow of water…need to check out that waterclocks…i adore your use of language anna and i suspect you know double as much words as the average man or woman..
Thanks Claudia, though I can’t speak German so you must also know twice as many words as the average person! I wish I’d had a more stable young life so that I could have become fluent in another language. I took a couple years of French, and know scraps of Latin, German, Spanish, and Italian picked up from singing. Thank you again for hosting!
wonderful, mythic, mixing deeper veins, very much enjoyed this one, just a few words from me for a change heehee
🙂 thanks, I always appreciate your words, no matter the quantity!
thank you for your mind. the water clock is amazing, it looks like justice. 6000 years is such a long time. i think i am my own rock, chain and monster but i do find release and constellations of wonder in these explorations of language. i admire your work. sorry i take so long to comment, sometimes i feel tonguetied.
Thank you for your lovely comment, I hear you on sometimes being our own rock, chain, and monster. Myths, like fairy tales can illuminate our inner landscapes and help us find our way. I deeply appreciate your gratitude and that you take the time to read and comment :).
the last verse is especially beautiful, dreamlike. especially a contrast to the previous poem, they seem to come from different worlds.
Yes, that’s the joy of time and growth in life :). I’d much rather live in the world of this poem than the last.
I am just now immersing myself in the world of myth, Anna, and am so enjoying all the interconnections between the various cultural understandings. It is so enriching. There are still knowledge defecits for me to fully understand this, but my Encyclopedia of myth is nearby and you send me there. (Catholic schools weren’t real strong on myth…at least in my day. :0>)
Thank you for the read Victoria and I too love exploring the innerconnections between cultures, it enriches our lives.
6000 years is a long time to wait for a consummation, but just a drop in time, really.
I imagine pyramids, queens and handsome servants in this, Anna!
My Latin is not so good, but this still flowed beautifully for me. Guess I may know some Latin, or I must say, MORE Latin than I realize. Or probably because you’re such a great writer, you make most anything work!
xo
Jannie, you always make me laugh right out of the gate. Patience is a virtue :). Thanks for your kind words!