(no subject)

[philena]

As newredshoes requested:

Eurydice

If the dead could speak, I'd entreat you
Not to blame yourself for losing me near the exit.
I was gone before you turned to glimpse me.
Your hope I would follow you into the light--
That was only a poet's faith in the power of music.
I followed as far as the law of Hell allowed me
And then turned back to my dark home.
For us to live together, you'd have to descend
Again to the place that chills the heart of the living.
I wouldn't want you to lie awake beside me
Straining to look on the bright side,
Spinning out plan after plan full of adventure.
I wouldn't want you to wait with patience
For my reply, to assume my lengthening silence
A thoughtful prologue. The hours would grow into years
While you dreamed up a song about our ascent
Meant for the ears of friends on our arrival.
I wouldn't want to hear it dwindle and fade
As the truth gradually came into focus
And you slowly deferred to a greater power.
Who would you be then? No one I know,
Not the man who thought his music enlarged creation.
If I could speak, child of the sun,
I'd assure you I'm still your wife.
That's why I want you to stay as long as you can
Just as you are, the mistaken
Hopeful man I married.

--Carl Dennis