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Funeral Mask from Mycenae, by Ruth Bavetta

1/9/2020

7 Comments

 
Picture
Funeral Mask from Mycenae (Mask of Agamemnon), Peloponnese, Greece, c. 1500s B.C.E.

Funeral Mask from Mycenae                
                          once thought to be that of Agamemnon

                 
There was someone who lived, 
who ate bitter olives, fish
pulled from the Adriatic,
garlic, onions, sesame.
 
And when he died a son
took a sheet of gold,
raised the hammer, beat the shining
metal into the topography of the face--
 
eyebrows in a shallow arch,
broad cheekbones, downturned mouth,
closed eyes—every blow 
driving his father deeper into history.

Ruth Bavetta

Ruth Bavetta is a poet and artist whose poems have appeared in Rattle, Nimrod, American Poetry Review, Tar River Review, North American Review and many other journals and anthologies. Her books are Fugitive Pigments and Flour, Water, Salt (Futurecycle Press), Embers on the Stairs (Moon Tide Press), and No Longer at This Address (Aldrich Press). She has been a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee.
7 Comments
Alarie Tennille link
1/9/2020 07:33:02 pm

Ruth, I love this so much. Your poems always exhibit your skill as an artist – just the right details to create the picture with an economy of words. Then comes the big bang ending that leaves me gasping for air. Wish I'd written this.

Reply
Pauline Crabb
1/10/2020 01:41:08 pm

First, how you see the world about you, then how you put that vision into words - I'm always in awe of your ability to paint such pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
Robt O'Sullivan link
1/16/2020 12:17:14 pm

Southern Californians, come see this sublime poet read from her extensive works at the Escondido Municipal Art Gallery on Sunday Feb 2nd at 1 pm

Reply
jane mcveigh-schultz
1/20/2020 04:26:43 pm

Ruth, Such a powerful poem. I love how we imagine this man alive...and then, OH...his son immortalizes him, and "buries" him.

Reply
Terry Cox-Joseph link
2/2/2021 08:31:34 pm

Beautiful, Ruth--and such an unexpected ending, although it makes perfect sense. I LOVE it!

Reply
Rosa Eva
2/2/2021 08:40:24 pm

Una bellissima poesia che fonde storia e mito dai tratti mediterranei. Non potevano esserci parole più adatte a descriverne il doloroso splendore. Complimenti dall'Italia!

Reply
Shelly Blankman
2/3/2021 12:58:04 am

I love how how you breathed life into a death mask, the images are vivid, and the ending is brilliant Congratulations!

Reply

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