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Hermes, The Artisan
Hermes, son and messenger of Jove,
Surveyed the coast, where often he would rove,
And found a tortoise beached upon a cove.
He took it home and made a turtle soup—
The shell, he thought, was like a giant scoop;
And then, inspired, he cried a happy whoop!
He brought to Jove a thought he couldn’t quell—
His plan for what had been an empty shell.
“These tools,” Jove said, “should serve your purpose well.”
With not just one, but several worthy goals,
Hermes measured out and drilled nine holes
From end to end, to match opposing poles.
He had in mind the Muses, numbered nine,
And laced the holes with strands of linen fine.
When satisfied that all were in a line,
He tightened, plucked, and knotted every string,
And wondered at the outcome it would bring,
But pleasantly surprised, began to sing.
At first Apollo thought that he was daft,
But when the music played, Apollo laughed
And offered Hermes nectar, which he quaffed.
“Such artistry’s a skill that I admire,”
Apollo said. “You have that inner fire.
I hereby name this instrument—the lyre!”
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Cheryl Corey’s recent credits include the current issue of Iconoclast and www.grand-little-things.com. Other publications include Iambs & Trochees, Deronda, The NeoVictorian/Cochlea, The Comstock Review, Mobius, and Time of Singing. In 2007 she received 1st Place for the Dylan Thomas Award and Honorable Mention for the June Kraeft Memorial Award in The World Order of Narrative and Formalist Poets contest.
Like an Aesop’s fable in its simplicity.
Thanks for an enlightening read, Cheryl.
I very much enjoyed this narrative poem in triplets, Cheryl! It’s a quite charming take on Greco-Roman mythology.
Thanks Brian. I had fun writing it.
The monorhyme triplets are indeed nicely done. There are a few different versions of this myth — one says that Hermes gave Apollo the newly-invented lyre as a bribe to drop the charges that Hermes had stolen some of Apollo’s sacred cattle.
Entertaining drama on the origin of the lyre, just as it should be! Not only Hermes the inventor, Apollo the maestro, and the Muses to keep the music flowing, but Jove’s approval as well. What more could we want, if not turtle soup and nectar?
This is delightful!