Tryptic

By Alan Kenneth Kite

A cryptic triptych of poems, epic poetry and enigmatic tales.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781447612476

Book preview

directions.

First page

On the outside we age

and may grow a little more sage

but under the cover

we’re still on the first page.

Athene

Athene was the genius,

the brainchild of Zeus

and wunderkind of the Olympians.

The mastermind who designed,

composed and constructed

an elegant order

from the meaningless grind

of everyday life;

the intellectual who invented,

created and cultivated

a stylish work of art

from the ineffectual banality

of run-of-the-mill normality.

She could not be crushed

or wearied by the weight

of commonplace dreariness

that rested upon

and wore down

the common man.

Unlike Aphrodite,

whose prospects began

so brightly:

her form sprouting

from a fountain of foam

and her life

a sprightly carefree débutante

for a time whilst still alone

before becoming tied to Hephaistos

and embarking on the somewhat

unexciting task of living together

as man and blacksmith’s wife,

Athene remained virginal,

untarnished and untroubled

with the hardship of being coupled

to a dull, slow-witted husband.

Even Hera,

who lived comparatively clear

of her spouse’s jurisdiction

and undertook her own projects

with few restrictions

and a fierce independence

would easily relent

and could never completely forget

that her handiwork were

compressible under the thumb

of her husband Zeus

should he choose to be

in a particularly thunderous mood.

Athene was at liberty

to do just as she pleased,

to think freely without restraint,

unheeded and unchained.

Her wondrous brain

would remain purely

full of thought

and she vowed

to stay uncaged.

When the deities

gathered to celebrate

her coming of age,

the announcement

of her engagement

was far from anticipated:

"I shall never share

my chastened heart

nor be ensnared

in an unbalanced marriage

like Peleus and poor Thetis.

I hereby declare

my betrothal to literature,

linguistics, the humanities and the arts."

Ambrosia

She lives amongst the apples

where the sunlight dapples

her rosewood Romany wagon

painted with a Celtic dragon

far from the bawdy sailors

fair Ambrosia regales us

with West Country tales

and in her gorgeous orchard pales

all hustle and bustle

each sinew and muscle

relaxed in