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Voyage Among the Ancients

“Tread softly, for here you stand
On miracle ground…”
—Lawrence Durrell, “On Ithaca Standing” ( 1937)

The Juno anchors, docks. We disembark.
Each landfall’s an Odyssean surprise.
Uncanny myths have left their canny mark.

These islands are ruin-studded, rocky, stark.
To wander is to feel our minds capsize.
The Juno anchors, docks. We disembark.

We gaze at each unparalleled landmark
crumbling to dust beneath Aegean skies.
Uncanny myths have left their canny mark.

At first confusion reigns. We’re in the dark.
But soon the crux begins to crystallize.
The Juno anchors, docks. We disembark.

Those Greeks considered war a bloody lark;
sought quiddities in things, nursed philoi ties.
Uncanny myths have left their canny mark.

Slowly we piece together history’s arc.
Studying Hellene classics makes us wise.
The Juno anchors, docks. We disembark.
Uncanny myths have left their canny mark.

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Mary Jane Myers resides in Springfield, Illinois. She is a retired JD/CPA tax specialist. Her debut short story collection Curious Affairs was published by Paul Dry Books in 2018.

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17 Responses

  3. David Whippman

    Thanks for this clever villanelle. Ancient history fascinates me, so I was hooked after the first line!

    Reply
    • Mary Jane Myers

      David
      Thank you for your kind comments. I often joke with friends: on my vacations, I like to visit better ruins everywhere!
      Most sincerely,
      Mary Jane

      Reply
  4. Joseph S. Salemi

    Very neatly done. I like villanelles that follow the prescribed pattern precisely, without “experimentation.”

    The line “Those Greeks considered war a bloody lark” jumped out at me, because it truly encapsulates the ancient Greek heroic attitude towards combat.

    Reply
    • Mary Jane Myers

      Joseph

      Thank you for your kind comments. It’s a daunting exercise to write a “precise” villanelle. 8 out of 19 lines are repetitions, and repetition can easily bore a reader. Therefore, the two “a”-rhymed repeating lines (each repeated 4x) have to be memorable and epigrammatic. And somehow the remaining 11 rhymed lines have to be artful enough to keep the reader’s interest. The “a” rhyme (5 x) rhymes with the repeating lines. The “b” rhyme is used 6 times, and must be dissimilar in sound to the “a” rhyme. Like diving off a high cliff–the poet hopes to avoid landing on treacherous rocks, and to fall instead into sun-warmed water in a calm sea!

      As with all poetry writing, it’s a mysterious process, isn’t it?

      Sincerely Mary Jane

      Reply
  5. Cynthia Erlandson

    “Odyssean surprise” and “uncanny myths” leaving their “canny”mark — this poem is extremely clever philosophically and poetically. Thanks, Mary Jane.

    Reply
    • Mary Jane Myers

      Cynthia, thank you for your encouraging comments. “Uncanny” is one of my “go-to” words– I’m afraid I may sometimes overuse it!

      Most sincerely
      Mary Jane

      Reply
  6. Margaret Coats

    Mary Jane, congratulations on a classic villanelle, which is yet as uncanny as wisdom itself can be. To begin near the end, these Hellene classics you study in the poem are places, with the landmarks crumbling to dust–though the skies remain unchangingly Aegean. “Disembark” as an important refrain word gives you multiple opportunities to begin anew. The one Greek word you include, philoi, literally means “friends,” and you speak of how Greeks “nursed philoi ties.” These were ties based on obligation, starting with family obligations, but including relationships of mutually expected benefit. This kind of thing may be strange to us, who often expect friends to act in an unselfish manner. “Myth” is another refrain word suggesting imperfect understanding of Greek culture. But from these classic scenes, you piece together “history’s arc.” And the “crux begins to crystallize,” which is my favorite expression symbolically indicating inexpressible things internalized by yourself and others as students of ancient Greece. This crux remains inexplicable to those who don’t study for themselves. Nicely done.

    Reply
    • Mary Jane Myers

      Margaret

      Thank you for your close reading of my villanelle. I have had the privilege of visiting some of these Greek islands. It’s a challenge to describe the complex feelings that overwhelm a traveler. As Durrell so memorably states, these places indeed seem to be “miracle ground.”

      Most sincerely,
      Mary Jane

      Reply
  7. Paul A. Freeman

    Am I reading too much into this, but did you choose ‘Juno’, perhaps a cruise ship loaded to the gunwales with twittering pensioners (presumably more ladies than gents), to contrast with Jason’s Argo, packed to the gunwales with ancient Greek macho men?

    The image had me guffawing the whole way through your villanelle, Mary.

    That aside, I think we’ve all felt the aura of treading where the ancients trod and you conveyed this feeling expertly.

    One small thing. How about removing ‘to dust’, leaving ‘crumbling beneath Aegean skies’? Although the line’s nine syllables, it reads well (Joseph will know why), and avoids the cliche ‘crumbling to dust’.

    You’ve more or less convinced me to take a trip to Turkey to look at some old ruins there. Let’s see how that pans out.

    Thanks for the read.

    Reply
    • Joseph S. Salemi

      It depends on how you pronounce “crumbling.” To me it is disyllablic (CRUM-bling) and it may be the same for Mary Jane. If that’s the case, then her line scans perfectly.

      Many words with the same basic phonics (such a rumbling, stumbling, tumbling, fumbling) are mispronounced by persons who add an intrusive schwa vowel. They’ll say RUM-bel-ing, STUM-bel-ing, CRUM-bel-ing, etc.

      Reply
    • Mary Jane Myers

      Paul

      What a gift you have given me! I agree, Juno is the wrong choice. First, the boat should have a Greek name, not a Roman. Second, Juno (or better, the Greek Hera) is all wrong!–you are correct, that goddess is a kind of comical middle-aged shrew. Boats are typically named after females, I believe. I will have a think about this. A better choice is possibly “Clio”–the muse of history. Clio is represented as a lithe and lovely librarian-scholar.

      I also agree: “crumbling to dust” is on the verge of cliche-dom. (Re: scanning. See Joseph’s comments–I would say it scans perfectly–but I agree, it’s possibly an over-used phrase). I’ll ponder a change to the wording.

      Ah, Turkey! Wonderful ruins in that country. Ionia, and even legendary Ilion!

      Most sincerely,
      Mary Jane

      Reply
  8. Edward Hayes

    Ms. Myers, Your use of repetition shows the power of this device. There are no two disemrkatios with the same meaning or level of potency. Each verse brings greater appreciation of what you are experiencing, a goal which you reveal early with the word “crux”. Is this a sophisticated anti-war poem, the ancient Greeks attitude toward war the mark which has been left?

    Reply
    • Mary Jane Myers

      Edward
      Thank you for your careful reading of my villanelle. I definitely was thinking about the nuances of the word “disembark.” But I didn’t consciously “layer in” an anti-war meaning. Fascinating what our subconscious minds bring to the blank page when we are composing poetic lines!

      Most sincerely,
      Mary Jane

      Reply

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