Woman Playing Kithera, With Her Servant, by Juanita Torrence-Thompson

Woman Playing Kithera, With Her Servant, mural from the triclinium of a villa at Boscoreale near Pompeii, Roman. 1st Century.

Woman Playing Kithera, With Her Servant
 
  
The woman’s husband, a judge, arrives home from court, demanding his wife play the kithera to soothe his frazzled bones. The woman, frightened but obedient, plays. Her faithful servant and confidante stays to protect her. Another servant serves the judge a glass of Mulsum wine. She returns to the kitchen, continues preparing dinner.
 
The woman plays the kithera. Her husband sips wine and drinks in the music. They have an arranged marriage and two children, Julietta and Romeo. The woman fears for her small children. Their father, a martinet.

She fears gnawing poverty; life without her children. He would keep them to spite her. She stays.
 
The woman studied the kithera for enjoyment; an outlet: expression against his suppression. She wants to feel alive. She plucks the kithera strings wanting to shut out her life. Hoping to soar high above the Colisseum, even past Michelangelo’s art in the Sistine Chapel. She imagines her art to be the Pieta of music. But when she sees her husband, her dreams plummet as streams of the kithera float through the stiff, unyielding air, while her servant keeps an ever watchful eye.

Juanita Torrence-Thompson

Juanita Torrence-Thompson, Pushcart nominated poet, Short story writer, playwright, events producer. Former Adjunct Professor, former actress and former editor-in-chief/publisher of award-winning Mobius the Poetry Magazine for 7 years. Mobius and her books were Small Press Review “pick”. Awards for poetry, short fiction, feature articles, children’s poetry. Short fiction & poetry published internationally, with poems  translated into 15 languages. Latest poetry book, When Morning Comes. Book #10 is forthcoming. Her 2nd play, “The Place,” was recently produced in New York City. She holds M.A. from Fordham University.  Reads prose and poetry in Singapore, Switzerland, South Africa, Canada, U.S. www.poetrytown.com