SLAM!

"Marpessa, My Friend" 

Marpessa
As the daughter of the river god, Marpessa was a divine Aetolian princess. She was loved by two beings: one the god Apollo, the other the mortal Idas. When Zeus allowed Marpessa to choose between Apollo and Idas, she chose Idas, the mortal man.




You might have moved next door, Marpessa,
and we might have become best friends.
Then, neither your dazzling looks
nor my chain-link fence could divide us,
because I, too, fell for a man on shaky knees
but with a heart that breaks and knows worship.
You and I have sensed the arcane: to learn to live,
one had to know the mortal's woe. Thus,
you snubbed your godly heredity as if
it were a dreadful sin, and I never
held divine claims or even any lofty ones.
When the inks rinse away, Marpessa,
our poetry will stay, for in life,
vitality cannot be off-key but
love and storms intertwined;

As best friends, we might meet for coffee, Marpessa,
to weave smiles and words in the breakfast nook. Then,
while I offer you chocolate chip cookies, I might mumble:
"Don't let my homeliness or unkempt house
keep you away; after all,
we both treated ourselves to humans
to make the universe briefly ours."
You might shrug and say:
"Neatness and beauty are just crumbs; you and I
opted for the mortal life, meager
though it is, so in death, we might know
we have lived; although,
Apollo's connections dash like lightning flashes
while Idas and Ned connect from synapse
to synapse…sometimes, not even that."
Then, we might both nod,
eye to eye.





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Prompt: Write a poem, free-style or formal if you wish, featuring a myth. Make the myth your own, personalizing it in some way. For example: If you pick Achilles, you might write about your own Achilles' heel.
You may choose any myth from the world of myths: Norse, Greek, Roman, Chinese, Sanskrit, Middle-Eastern etc.
It is up to you to refer to your myth in any way you choose; however, since myths and their versions are numerous, please give us a short paragraph summarizing the myth.
For reference to myths, you may choose to consult these sites, if you wish:

http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/
http://www.mythology.org seem
http://www.mythweb.com/teachers/why/index.html
http://www.mythweb.com/

If the poem is in form, tell us the name of the form.
Paste your entire poem in your post.
If you want other Slammers to R/R your entry, include a link to the static item of your poem. A static is not required, but the entire poem must be pasted in your post.
Please, no visuals, colors, pictures, or centering in your SLAM post; you may, however, do as you wish in your static.
If you only post a link to your poem, and not the poem itself, your entry won't be considered.

After you enter, you may edit your post as many times as you like, until 10am Thursday, June 15.
Any poems edited after the 10am Thursday entry deadline will be disqualified.

Punctuation, correct spelling, and proper grammar counts. Take your time and do the best you can.
Make sure your poem is as perfect as you can make it. Good luck.


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Those who are to enter the Finale Round 1 will be listed down this page. All others please post your poems in the Green Room, so the judges do not get easily confused. There will be pats in the back and handshakes or something like that for those who continue to write for the prompts even if they are not in the finals. The posts of those who are not qualified to enter the finals but post their poems in the SLAM forum will be suspended.

Finale Round 1 Entrants who will post on the SLAM forum

Katya the Poet
sapience
Ghost of Stereotomy
Diane
Dale Arthur
twyls
Harlow Flick, Right Fielder
Misawa
Phyllis
Red Writing Hood <3
alfred booth, wanbli ska
Rhyssa
Zoo - Salted and Roasted
Annie
auric
Piglet
Puditat
alittletoolate
Tabriel Kins
Unicorn

Good Luck!