Nemesis

The god from the past came stalking,

Came clambering over the hill,

He’d woken first thing in the morning

With a hangover, fit to chill,

Those Roman debauches with grapes and wine,

The reds and the whites of the Tuscan kind,

The fruit of an overburdened vine,

Were sapping his energy still.

 

He’d rubbed at his eyes in the dawning,

And wondered where everyone went,

For nothing remained of the Roman baths

Not even a soldier’s tent,

And where was the maiden he’d last embraced

The sweet  Lucina, so fair of face,

Whose long held virtue was laid to waste

When the force of his love was spent.

 

Invidia’s green and brooding eyes

Had watched as he laid her down,

Had mixed her potions to match his lies

As they struggled, there on the ground.

She thought, ‘No god should be so remiss

As to offer a rival a tainted kiss,

From now, I’ll act as his Nemesis,

He’ll sleep while the world turns round.

 

She poured him a draught of her potion then

The last of his thirst to slake,

Though Empires rose and fell again

She vowed that he’d never wake.

The buildings crumbled and turned to dust

As the god dreamt long of his love, and lust,

While Nemesis thought her scheme was just

And the field turned into a lake.

 

The ages tired and the gods retired

To their mansions, high on the mount,

But he continued to sleep and dream

More years than he could count,

The god slept through in a dream sublime

While generations were buried in lime,

Two thousand years was a blink in time

For the gods in their banishment.

 

He woke on a chilly Autumn day

And found himself in a lake,

Shivered once, and then strode away

For his heart had begun to ache,

He walked down into a valley plain

Green and fresh in the Autumn rain,

When out of a tunnel streamed a train

With a scream, and the squeal of brakes.

 

‘By Juvenal!’ cried the god in shock

As the carriages streamed on by,

Then up above, like a giant gnat

A vehicle flew in the sky.

‘The world has changed since I fell asleep

The gods have fled to the mountain keep,

And men have conjured a giant leap,

The world has passed us by!’

 

He ran headlong through the tunnel

Hoping to find Lucina again,

And that was the great explosion that

Nobody could explain.

The diesel engine was rendered flat

With carriages piled on top of that,

While Nemesis on the mountain sat

Her tears flowing like rain!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Casey gave you a wonderful review, and nothing I could say could begin to top that. Suffice it to say, this is another wonderful story in verse. I love the mythological references, and I also love the shift in rhyme scheme in this one.

Love, as always.

[TL Boehm]

Even the gods who bend time are poisoned by their baser emotions. I loved this poetical mythical story of thwarted love and that verdant jealousy that can kill.

[shallimarRose]

Thank you David. Another outstanding rhyme and tale. Your gift of rhyme is almost impeccable.. shallimarRose

[Onku Ghosh]

Another great write form the master of tales.there is some magic in your pen that you can spin such tales.I liked the way you have combined mythology and present times to create such an interesting piece.Hats off to you.

[Ravyne Hawke]

Another wonderful tale, O Master of the Narrative Poem! I wonder how many gods have revisited us long after we've stopped worshiping them and what they would think of the world we've made for ourselves. This gives a slight glimpse into that for me.

[Jazique]

"Wow, wow wow wow." Exellent job with the story line and the ending again felt so sad even though I felt there was a lot of foul play with words. I am speechless with words but, to sum it up in one word I say "Bravo".

[Tate Morgan]

Man oh man this took some doing. I studied the way it was written and the rhyme scheme and how it all lay. I can tell oh so well by the lilt of the spell that it took you more than a day.

[Keith]

What a great story, old mythogy melded into modern times. Interesting rhyming pattern that well suits this poem.

[Casey]

I love this poem and I am amazed by how well you were able to fit this piece together. Invidia, the Roman goddess of jealousy and envy becomes the nemesis of the god in the work. This is a play on words because the greek goddess of jealousy and envy is, Nemesis. I like that bit a lot. I had to google the name "Juvenal" but I enjoyed the result. Its hilarious that a god is cursing a human poet who satires pagan Rome!

‘The world has changed since I fell asleep
The gods have fled to the mountain keep,
And men have conjured a giant leap,
The world has passed us by!’

This part i liked as well. While the unknown god was asleep, the world had changed completely. The gods no longer have any say in what men do because the men have stopped believing in them. Without this belief, the gods have no power. That is how a manmade train was able to kill a god. Excellent work.

~Casey

P.S. I rated this 100/100. Great job.

[Angi]

Excellent! This has got to be my favorite so far, David! I was leaning closer and closer to my screen as I read. Nemesis loved him for 2000 years! Loved this! Angi~