Mycenae
Passing through the lion-headed gate, years
fall from her shoulders like heaps of old rags.
Even in the innocent daylight, she clearly hears
gory echoes reflected in time’s murky mirrors
and, like courageous Cassandra, she, too, fears
the scent of centuries-old blood which still gags.
Passing through the lion-headed gate, years
fall from her shoulders like heaps of old rags.
Note: Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km southwest of Athens.
Losing You in the Maze
I did not expect, in such a wilderness,
this irrational apparition, a 3-D maze,
a game designed to test my cleverness,
a trap exposing eccentric witlessness.
This literalization of mutual malaise
I did not expect, in such a wilderness.
Apathetic alleys ignore my urgent SOS,
abandonment another way to paraphrase
a game designed to test my cleverness.
Quickly, you find your blessed egress,
leaving me behind in a puzzled daze.
I did not expect, in such a wilderness,
to win a game so flagrantly meaningless,
a game played out at the end of our days,
a game designed to test my cleverness.
No expectations left of winning praise,
awaiting nothing but your smug gaze.
I did not expect, in such a wilderness,
a game designed to test my cleverness.
Toni La Ree Bennett attended the University of Washington (Seattle) where she received her Ph.D. in English. Her work has appeared in Poemmemoirstory, Puerto del Sol, Hawaii Pacific Review, Journal of Poetry Therapy, and Viet Nam Generation, among other publications, and she has several poems included in the anthology The Muse Strikes Back published by Story Line Press. She is also a freelance editor.