Prometheus the Firebringer: 1985

By Stephen W Sweigart

The myth of Prometheus tells of a powerful Greek Titan who stole fire from Olympus and brought it to Earth as a gift to mankind. He was punished for lighting the world, and modern artists sometimes suffer the same fate. They bring enlightenment only to be shunned; they share parts of themselves only to go mad in the giving. Yet, creation continues, no matter the cost.

Sweigart’s creative words bring text alive, and vivid descriptions allow readers to feel pain and despair as well as hear music in their imaginations. The work is challenging in the best of ways as poems entertain until the final page. Prometheus brought light to a dark world, just like artists who pay the price for their brilliance but continue creating anyway.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Jul 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781480849181

Stephen W Sweigart

At time of writing the poem, the author was 73 years old. BA English, Temple University. One semester of graduate school. Studied Psychiatry at Xavier and University of Pennsylvania. NJ Secondary and Securities Certificates. An audiophile and gardener.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 Stephen W. Sweigart.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-4917-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-4918-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017910561

Archway Publishing rev. date: 07/19/2017

CONTENTS

Prologue

The Poet’s Garden

‘The Cossack Pianist’

‘Ancora’

‘The Unhealable Hand’

‘The Director’

Prometheus The Firebringer

49941.png

PROLOGUE

Princess Carolyne Seyn-Wittgenstein

and

Franz Liszt

"The last lines

                        I write

                                you

            My exile has ended.

In five days

                      will I find

                  my country, home, and altar

                              in you."

20 October, Rome.

The wedding will be

on his fiftieth birthday

                  the 22sd.

She waited at the station

                at daybreak

at San Carlo al Corso.

They spent the wedding day together

                          by midnight

he left her

superstition forbade it.

In the middle of the night

she saw phantoms