ingemuit tristisque
deus “lugebere nobis lugebisque alios aderisque dolentibus” inquit
The god groaned and said sadly: “I shall mourn for thee.
Thou shalt mourn for others and assist those grieving.”
– Ovid
The great god Apollo
has promised to follow
Cyparissus, still crying.
His stag was reclining
in shade, the sun shining,
moments later lay dying.
He’d practised his javelin,
and as it was travelling,
life was unravelling.
I hugged him one evening,
wholly believing.
The very next morning,
I saw he was swarming
with ants, their obsession
to gather his resin.
You’d have to be clever
to match their endeavour;
you’d probably never.
I thought I’d move slowly
at Camporsevoli,
but now I’m not stalling;
I’ve found my true calling:
to honour the past.
Home at last. Duncan Gillies MacLaurin
If you have any thoughts about this poem, Duncan Gillies MacLaurin
would be pleased to hear them
