In ‘The Penelope Complex’ I use the character from Homer’s Odyssey to draw comparisons and reflect on my own fidelity to the craft of writing and my own literary identity.
You can check out the poem here before reading ahead!
As promised in the author’s comments section, I will expand upon the River Nile and Styx reference. Although this comes from Egyptian mythology, I also use Biblical mythology along with the more poignant Greek Mythology to represent the conflux of my personal writing identity. When writing, I often feel I need a period of going down a metaphorical ‘River Styx’ to get me to flourishing and blooming, similar to the bounties of the flood that the Nile produces. Usually though, it is hard to articulate this.
But who am I to suggest such a flow
A stream of vacant words is all I know
The most obvious reference to Penelope is about me standing tall and waiting for sailors. I say I usually wait for the right idea, wait the right prose to hit me, wait until I have free time to end up writing… but, yes you guessed it, that’s a lie. Focus is usually hard that erupts in life and usually I miss chances that I could use to further hone in on my craft. The cave I refer to that other sailors, which are interchangeable with other authors or other ideas for writing I might have, go to is a metaphor isolation that is often paired with the hobby of writing. Similar to that of a grave, which is why I use the rhyming scheme of grave/cave.
I wait, wait, wait. But wait, that’s a lie.
The alliteration of ‘typewriter’s’, ‘tent’ and ‘temporary’ attempts to produce the feeling of short-lived moment, such as the purpose of ‘tent’ and the nostalgia of writing on a ‘typewriter’. Unlike Penelope, I make the remark saying that I am unable to wait, calling back on the Adam reference in the last stanza with the rib. The quickie exorcist is reference to trying to find ways to revive old stories, that have been lost to my own dedication to my craft. Stories, characters and entire worlds I have cast aside to remain loyal to a specific piece of work. Below, I do see grass in terms of fertility of ideas but remaining forward, I will be burdened by not being able to tap into everything I would love to work with.
More ghosts undulate through this hall everyday
Scoured by a quickie exorcist who shall prey.
Thank you for getting down here and getting to know a little bit more of what I am rambling about. If you have any interpretations for yourself, I would so love to hear them in the comments or in my social medias!
Christos Floratos 