Bacchanal
This is for fengirl88: it's the song of a Maenad and springs from our trip to see the Almeida Bakkhai. There were many remarkable things about that production, but the most stunning for me was Bertie Carvel's Agave; he convinced me completely that I was seeing a middle-aged woman in the grip of a Bacchic frenzy. 
I've been trying to capture something of that, and I'm not at all satisfied with it, but I think I will have to give up trying to get it right, and put down what I have; maybe I will come back to it later.
MAENAD
My father gave me to a man;
He chose the man, I had no voice.
I gave myself to Bakkhos, god
Of wine and flesh, of dance and song.
I drank deep of his holy wine,
Darker than blood, stronger than sex,
My veins sang, and my limbs rejoiced,
I left behind the halls of men.
The halls of men are thick with smoke,
Kithairon's air is cold and clear;
I look down from its snowy peak
And laugh to see their puny town.
I gave birth to my son in pain,
I give suck to the beasts with joy.
Snakes coil my arms and bind my hair,
Gleaming brighter than beaten gold.
The men who call us mad, and cage
Me and my sex with walls and laws,
They tell us what we must not do;
But Bakkhos has broken our chains.
If beast or man come against us,
They will know Dionysos' power;
When his righteous anger fills us,
We are stronger than storm or river.
No mercy then for those who fight
Against the peace that our god brings;
Better, you men, to join our dance
And drown your rage in ecstasy.
Bromios calls in the thunder,
The lightning dances in my soul:
Brighter than torches and firelight,
Fiercer than sounds of battle.
The god runs riot in my veins:
The gifts he brings are blood and wine,
Madness or freedom, death or life -
When you meet him, choose well, my son.
Also posted on Dreamwidth, with
comments.
I've been trying to capture something of that, and I'm not at all satisfied with it, but I think I will have to give up trying to get it right, and put down what I have; maybe I will come back to it later.
MAENAD
My father gave me to a man;
He chose the man, I had no voice.
I gave myself to Bakkhos, god
Of wine and flesh, of dance and song.
I drank deep of his holy wine,
Darker than blood, stronger than sex,
My veins sang, and my limbs rejoiced,
I left behind the halls of men.
The halls of men are thick with smoke,
Kithairon's air is cold and clear;
I look down from its snowy peak
And laugh to see their puny town.
I gave birth to my son in pain,
I give suck to the beasts with joy.
Snakes coil my arms and bind my hair,
Gleaming brighter than beaten gold.
The men who call us mad, and cage
Me and my sex with walls and laws,
They tell us what we must not do;
But Bakkhos has broken our chains.
If beast or man come against us,
They will know Dionysos' power;
When his righteous anger fills us,
We are stronger than storm or river.
No mercy then for those who fight
Against the peace that our god brings;
Better, you men, to join our dance
And drown your rage in ecstasy.
Bromios calls in the thunder,
The lightning dances in my soul:
Brighter than torches and firelight,
Fiercer than sounds of battle.
The god runs riot in my veins:
The gifts he brings are blood and wine,
Madness or freedom, death or life -
When you meet him, choose well, my son.
Also posted on Dreamwidth, with
comments.