Anna Cates
At the Ruins of Sarpedon
…………..Perseus
son of a god
his magic bag shimmers
ocean’s edge
man of flesh
light in winged sandals
world’s end
fright and horror
in a frozen gaze
helm of darkness
dizzying rattling
a stricken warrior’s
marble pose
snake heads
ooze pink oil
he slips forward
polished shield mirror
he swerves his sword
and severs the head
From Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca: “And he, looking not at her directly, but viewing her in the reflection of the bronze shield which he bore, cut off her head.”
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Backstory & Author’s Comments: “At the Ruins of Sarpedon” is a haiku sequence I composed while developing a yet-to-be-published collection of poems unified by a motif of mirrors, or magic mirrors in particular. Details from the famous Greek myth made the subject matter suitable for the collection.
Editor’s Comments and Image Credit: I remember the difficulty of finding good, fresh images of Medusa in the past; I wanted to see what the Wixel engine would produce. I am content with the result of “create an abstract of Medusa and Perseus behind his shield.” (A Reverse Image search produced no suspicious connections, including no likeness to Perseus.)