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Erica Abbott

King Hades Makes Orpheus a Magician This Time

​            (inspired by Hadestown)
 
​            ​            Proclaims he’ll write you a poem when the power is out
​​            and I wonder what’s so wrong about that?
 
Poetry is the song of the gods; each word
​            a source of kindling when the timbre
 
​            ​            of speech combusts. This hungry artist
​            is not starved: his voice is heaven-
 
sent. The mighty king of the underworld
​            and manipulator of the strings ought to hear this.
 
​            ​            He is rich in romanticism, trying so hard
​            to immortalize those he loves in his words— 
 
I used to believe what they say about never dying
​            if you love a person such as this. Orpheus
 
​            ​            But then a deal is made. A sorrow of lyrebirds
​            mimics the sound of our leaving
 
and my imagination becomes an escape artist—chains
​            hope to the fact that there must be more than this:
 
​            ​            penniless. You see, the willows still weep
​            their songs of defeat, each branch a throbbing vein
 
hanging from its arterial root. What does the wind know
​            of war— of failed tricks and truces? Hunger is a weapon
 
​            ​            and his songs no longer feed my survival. I did
​            not ask him to free me, never signaled distress. My mouth
 
hangs open wide ready to receive the shining apple and, again,
​            I am halved at my core. Doesn’t he see? He never looked
 
​            ​            at our love as anything that needed saving— 
​            the world above ground needed far too much rescuing.
 
Look, I am a wilting flower still needing to be fed;
            yes, a fading flame seeking shelter from the cold, too— 
 
and, yes, in this poem, I am Eurydice
            and all I am asking is for him to not disappear
                                                                                             
                          
​            ​            ​            ​            ​            ​            ​            ​            ​            ​            ​            me.
 
 
 
(credit for referenced lyric in first stanza: “Hey, Little Songbird” from the musical Hadestown)

Biography

Picture
Erica Abbott (she/her) is a Philadelphia-based poet and writer whose work has previously appeared or is forthcoming in Midway Journal, Serotonin, FERAL, Anti-Heroin Chic, and other journals. She is the author of Self-Portrait as a Sinking Ship (Toho, 2020), her debut poetry chapbook. She volunteers for Button Poetry and Mad Poets Society. Follow her on Instagram @poetry_erica and on Twitter @erica_abbott. Website: ericaabbott.wordpress.com
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ISSN 2639-426X
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    • Play It Again
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