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| sculpture: Jason deCaires Taylor |
Speak god
That night the storm tore at the coast,
pulling down rock cliffs and shifting hillsides
the mighty Longinus estate slipped into the sea,
many cattle were lost, slaves too
and the landscape changed as if an earthquake had ridden through
Below, the sea’s bed churned with mud, cluttered debris from above,
and new currents swept the old harbours away, navigation even for fish, lost
Three slaves from the ship survived the wreck 'til day break,
their execution – an appeasement to deaf gods – was slow and agonising;
their screams would wake the idle gods
while clouds ran from a scurrying sky, appalled
The rest – sailors who fell with the bronze,
their bones like pearls about the lost god – took the easy sacrifice
The god of alabaster eyes, dressed in barnacles now, is silent
Inspired by a bronze statue of Poseidon or Zeus, found by a vacationing diver, and by the photo prompt offered by Tess at The Mag. More results of her inspiration can be found swimming here.
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