Cassandra

Cassandra

For her to see and for all to listen.
Joyless fate, heard but not believed
Pristine bearer of words that burn
And words that would never be false
“Be gone, gifts that bring no relief.
Be gone, rituals of agony”
What is truth that is discarded?
What is the depth of persuasion?
All for a burnt future to come
And for knowledge of raging terror.
The seer’s body, put to sacrilege
Unprotected in sanctuary
Deep injury to wretched omniscience
Then discarded as the prize of war.
Relief would not be felt nor accorded
Neither would pleasant sights be seen
Only livid welcomes would be given
By vengeful eyes and a bitter heart.
At the fated hour, dread appeared
In fulfilment of final prophecy.
Prophecy that vowed to take her gifts
Then ease her from a painful life.
So she left the living by lethal hands
Permanent consolation, eternal calm.
For all to see, for none to yield.
Cursed insight to an unfair life.

~Fortune

[[This poem is inspired by the Trojan priestess named Cassandra. Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy by the god Apollo. But she was cursed so that her prophecy wouldn’t be believed. She predicted the fall of Troy, but her voice fell on deaf ears. Then during the sack of troy, she was horribly assaulted in the temple of Athena and given away as a ‘war gift’ to King Agamemnon. On arrival at Mycenae, she was killed by Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, who was vengeful as a result of Agamemnon sacrificing her daughter. I initially wanted to write about Clytemnestra; in fact, I did a few days’ worth of research but for some reason I changed my mind the day I was writing and just churned this out.]]