ode to ovis aries pterygoid

o once beauteous, wingéd ram,

how pitiful-- your gold is gone.

 

Nephele's alary aide,

savior of Helles and Phrixus;

 

'twas not your failing that lead to her falling

into namesake's deep.

 

lo, but still you hang--  a sacrifice

here in Ares' holy grove,

 

stripped by Argonauts

of your golden fleece long ago,

 

and left--

a naked reminder of hecatomb.

Author's Note

written for challenge 8 in "from an image born" group.

the photo reminded me of the golden fleece from greek mythology, and the story of how the winged, golden ram ended up as a mere fleece in the first place. there are some deeper things, but hope this helps in deciphering. enjoy :)

Reviews

[Libby McKeown]

It reminds me of lemondrops. The candy is old-fashioned, but I still love the way it tastes. Keep singing, my friend.

[Sara]

lol, i saw that picture in the 'from an image born' group and thought 'how weird! how could anybody write a poem about THAT thing?' :D but i guess *you* can, because this is a very cool piece of work... i admit, to get all the references you made, i had to make a quick trip to wikipedia for a refresher course on the golden fleece (even though i once was a very kick-a*s medea in a school play :P)... but i enjoy learning and reading about greek myths, so it's all good... i love your writing style here, how very formal it is, it almost sounds like an old-school translation of homer :D so great job, a very interesting interpretation of the picture (and educational too!)

[Ruth]

Absolutely blown away jr!
Awesome work love:)
Excellent use of words and metaphors, wow!
Wonderful!
xx