Its touch so sensuous
Its eyes drawing me into itself
Its body snuggling in mine
Rousing a passion yet unknown
Slowly it dawned on me
He is no ordinary swan
He is no swan at all
Then what, nay, who is he?
His golden feathers
Gleaming eyes
And voice profound-
Did tell a story different…
His lips reaching up to my ears
Whispered, 'Leda, I'm Zeus!
May I take my own shape
So you'd believe…'
'No' I cried. How can I
The queen of Sparta
Be seen nude with a man
Be it Zeus himself!
And I wanted to fly
On his golden wings
Over Mount Olympus
I was already his…
(2)
The touch of his body
His lips on mine
Webbed feet on my navel
Mounting passion
I remember nothing
I lay in the poolside bath
Tired as a dead log
Unable to move a limb
But his mere thought
Roused me again
Kindled my passion
Longing for him yet again
(3)
My husband Tyndareus
The king of Sparta
Who'd not touched me
For the one month past
I went to his harem-
With many a concubine
Where he slept
All spent and tired
All those girls I threw out
For, through the night
I wanted to be alone
With him, till day broke
Never did I allow him sleep
Throughout the night
For my passion rose
Whenever I thought of Zeus
My hunger I wanted to sate
But I wanted to give him
A night to remember
So he'd never suspect
Whenever I longed
Zeus did come to me
Always as the swan
In the form I wanted him.
(4)
With swan I have slept
Not a human any longer?
For, two eggs I laid
And waited to hatch
The first one hatched
Out came twins both male
Reminded me of Zeus
I was sure, they were his
My heart longed for him
My body for his touch
Out came Zeus
To see his babies
The other egg hatched
I had another pair of twins
Were they borne to Zeus
Or me husband, the king?
(5)
But my desire was else
And he knew it well
His passionate hug
With his feathered arms
His lips searching mine
My body aching for his
I was his yet again
Never sated, never again.
Grateful to you, dear poet. Thank you for your time and for the words of appreciation
Thank you, dear poet. I have posted a version of the poem in Malayalam named "Zeus and Leda". May I request you to go through it?
This story from the Greek myth lingers on the borders of love and ..
"Longing for him yet again…. " the depth of love of Leda for Zeus.. Or was it just ?
The love story of Leda and Zeus is a extraordinarily story of love between a woman and an avian
You painted your own painting with your beautiful words....very nicely done. Annette
Thank you Annette. Ever obliged..