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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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3 Responses

  3. David Whippman

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

    Reply

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