Dedication to Homer and Kavavy
Ithaca will heal you
If you let her bring you home –
After all your striving and adventures-
To a place of love and compassion
After fighting battles as great as Troy
-Athena has guided you back,
Had words with the other Gods to take pity on you –
Mere mortal
And you are washed up, exhausted,
lost, and unable to recognise your true home
as you lie on the stony beach
feel the lapping of salt water on your cut and soiled feet
as the sun shines on your broken heart
Breathe,
find peace and know that this is true
You are home
This is not a place for bullies, power mongers, go getters or soul thieves
-remember you, your true self, never wanted to go to battle
You would rather have stayed with your wife and son, ploughed the fields, tended your vineyards and pressed your olives for fresh peppery oil
What use is your looty if you lose the ones you love,
and the work of your hands
And despise yourself?
You will slay the suitors who have caused so much trouble in your peaceful home
It was you that let them in
Those that know Ithaca in their heart
And humble themselves to her beauty, storms, tranquillity, roughness,
And all of her ancestors, humans, Gods and animals,
Her storytelling waves,
Her Nymphs dancing on the jade and wine dark sea
– Let her, as Kavavy said, teach you how to be
Bow to her wisdom
It is your own
Let her hold you
Do not try to conquer her
You will be the looser
Take care of her and she will bring you gently home
Axe your ego
And if you
listen
listen
listen
She will speak to you of how to live a life truly worthy of her.
When the monsters frighten you
Do not reveal your name with boasting, swagger and arrogance
Say as Odysseus did:” I am nobody”
For who are you but a humble being searching for home
Not a great King or hero
Winning the war with your trickery, cunning and guise
You are a human here, no greater than the swineherd
No better or worse
A human that makes mistakes
Like everybody else
What a relief!
In Ithaca you are nobody
– wealth is of no matter.
Un-robe your purple pomp and ceremony
banish the roles you play , your striving for fine foods and palaces
Ithaca sees through you
She beckons you to be true,
To be nobody
Let her in
And she will give you everything
You ever needed –
She will show you the meaning of Home.
Katrina Parsey 2017