Seeing the year out with a poem

8 o’clock. I’m sitting here in my trackies with a cold beer and watching Vikings with my husband while the last of today’s sunshine fades from the sky and the last hours of 2020 dwindle into darkness as the calendar shifts to 2021 and sporadic fireworks begin to crackle.

I’d like to see the year out with a poem. It’s one I wrote a few years ago in a writing workshop where we were asked to write poems from the point of view of a child living a very different life to our own. Try it yourself – you can be whoever you want. As a kid, I enjoyed reading ancient Greek myths and legends, and this poem is a response to one of them.

The Chrysos Spell

The King wished to hug me once.
He was a whisper away.
I could smell his metal breath.
His fingers stretched out to me,
long and brittle as carob fruit.

Did I really hear his knees creak
like timbers swollen by summer?
His eyes sought for mine, brassy
with a sheen of old coins.
Every pore in his skin glistened
like sand under noonday sun.
Yet his breath was as cold as Medusa.

He was young by the seasons, my father,
but a wizened, olive-husk of a man.
We lifted our palms, closer, closer,
until just an air-ribbon lay between.
My name was a ghost in his mouth.
And he turned away, left me besieged
by the screams of our slaves.

My mother touched every inch of me,
but I was still all flesh, bone and beating heart.
I watched him from my window that night,
pacing the olive grove in moonlight.
His sandal broke – he stumbled, barefoot,
and I saw the grass he touched with his sole.
It glowed: as hard as diamonds, fierce as flames.
As gold as his crown.

Commended in 2012 NZPS international poetry competition



  26 comments for “Seeing the year out with a poem

  1. 09/01/2021 at 7:06 am

    Happy New Year! I am also a HUGE lover of all things mythology related. In fact, I took Latin in high school as one of my elective courses solely for the fact that half the course was about the myth and lore lol! One of the things that I love most about poetry is the ability to create a vivid, beautiful image with just a few carefully composed words. You’ve accomplished this here! Your writing is beautiful – Thank you for sharing this with all of us!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      09/01/2021 at 8:08 pm

      Lol! That’s why I took Latin too!

      Like

  2. 09/01/2021 at 6:07 am

    Trish, this was so creative and beautiful. I use to write poetry in college….I’m inspired to pick back up the hobby : )

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      09/01/2021 at 8:07 pm

      Give it a go! Writing is so good for the soul!

      Like

  3. Lyosha Varezhkina
    09/01/2021 at 4:16 am

    beautiful poem. I am speechless

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      09/01/2021 at 8:06 pm

      thank you

      Like

  4. The Prepping Wife
    09/01/2021 at 1:03 am

    Happy new year, Trish! I am always amazed at how you can draw your readers in with so few words! I really want to read your Medusa poem once it is complete. I hope you publish it. Hopefully 2021 is a far better year for all of us than the previous one. It will be interesting to see what happens, but I hope it is amazing for you and your family.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      09/01/2021 at 8:06 pm

      Lots and lots of practice – my first poems were awful things that should never see the light of day, but perfect learning ground! Wishing you a good 2021 too ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  5. 09/01/2021 at 12:45 am

    Wow Trish what a beautiful poem that you wrote years back maybe. So powerful. Some thoughts or feelings perhaps touch our heart more and come out through beautiful poem like this. Wish you and your husband a great year ahead

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      09/01/2021 at 8:04 pm

      I wrote this one about 8 years ago,. Wish you a good year too!

      Like

  6. 08/01/2021 at 9:42 pm

    What a powerful poem! Writing from a different perspective, poetry or fiction is always so much fun.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      09/01/2021 at 8:01 pm

      Thank you. It is fun – interesting to see what comes out!

      Like

  7. 08/01/2021 at 5:21 pm

    Beautiful poem Trish! Deserves the commendation you received in the poetry competition! Would love to read your Medusa poem soon.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      09/01/2021 at 7:58 pm

      Thanks Smita. Hope I finish it soon

      Like

  8. Kelly Martin
    06/01/2021 at 6:49 pm

    I always like reading your poems Trish and this was great. I enjoy Greek mythology too

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      07/01/2021 at 11:08 am

      Thank you, Kelly. Some great stories in Greek mythology – I’m working on a Medusa poem at the moment!

      Like

  9. 06/01/2021 at 6:24 pm

    I love this, and really enjoyed reading this poem! Such a beautiful way to end the year. Thank you for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      07/01/2021 at 11:07 am

      Thank you ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  10. 01/01/2021 at 9:26 pm

    Lovely poem to end the year. And the perfect sentiment.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      01/01/2021 at 10:15 pm

      Thank you

      Like

  11. 01/01/2021 at 12:31 pm

    Trish this is gorgeous, like all your writing. Keep doing it (and sending it) please!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      01/01/2021 at 4:13 pm

      Thank you – and I will! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  12. Alison Raine
    01/01/2021 at 12:36 am

    Wonderful on so many levels! Shared ๐Ÿ™‚

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      01/01/2021 at 4:11 pm

      Thank you! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  13. 01/01/2021 at 12:01 am

    Beautifully penned ๐Ÿ˜Š
    check this out https://littlethings001.wordpress.com/2020/12/30/because-you-can/

    Liked by 1 person

    • Trish
      01/01/2021 at 12:05 am

      Thank you

      Like

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