Siren Song
Her body would engulf the hungry eye—
A feast of pure temptation to be had!
Her gentle touch would drive a man insane;
A single kiss would leave him raving mad!
Her sultry voice sings symphonies of love
that tremble in the ear of every man;
Her words entangle with the breeze and surf
to lure the wayward sailor to his end;
He floats adrift upon her melody
until his raft comes crashing to the shore;
She draws him inland to his tragedy:
A slow decay that lingers—death forlorn.
But what of her? This temptress on the wind?
Will her lonely vigil ever end?
Robert P. Hansen teaches philosophy and ethics at a community college. In addition to poetry, he also writes genre fiction. He recently published a collection of mystery and science fiction stories (Have You Seen My Cat? And Other Stories) on Amazon and the third book of his Angus the Mage fantasy series (The Golden Key) will be published in January, 2015. For more information on his writing and where to find what he has published, visit his blog at: http://rphansenauthorpoet.wordpress.com/.
WOW Robert that is a powerful well written poem. Am I right or wrong that the temptress is the sea luring the sailor to take his adventurous journey that will take him to his eventual doom. At least that is the way I read it. I enjoyed the metaphors used.
ReplyDeleteSincerely, Charlene
Hi Charlene,
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of the sirens in Greek mythology when I wrote this one, particularly those encountered by Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. The poem is actually much more literal than you've taken it to be: the sirens used their enchanting songs to lure the sailors to their islands, where their ships crashed into the rocks, killing them.
Thanks for the comment!
Robert
Very well-written.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing !
Excellent poem Robert. I thought of a seductive woman siren ensnaring gullible men with her wiles, & at the same time I recalled the stories I've heard of sirens that lure sailors to their deaths in Greek mythology. Either way I enjoyed your poem! ~Chris
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