Orpheus exits

by T.P. Wilkinson / February 24th, 2019

petition
granted on appeal
bearing writs
love and zeal
entered deep
for their reward
awaiting she
as he tread for’d
o’er that threshold
mortal life beyond
dead and exiled
to leave behind
imagined he
would love find
Sadness sleep
would overcome
Doubts from the deep
would overwhelm
Had tender justice
been his mission
yet to succumb
to punished beauty’s
vain attrition.

 

T.P. Wilkinson, Dr. rer. pol. writes, teaches History and English, directs theatre and coaches cricket between the cradles of Heine and Saramago. He is author of Unbecoming American: A War Memoir and also Church Clothes, Land, Mission and the End of Apartheid in South Africa. Read other articles by T.P..

This article was posted on Sunday, February 24th, 2019 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.