Poem: "Family Histories"
This poem came out of the November 5, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from siliconshaman. It has been sponsored by technoshaman.
Family Histories
Every family
has its own past
reaching down to the present.
Sometimes,
when history extends
all the way back to mythology
this gets a little awkward ...
In Japan, the emperor's household
entertains divine relatives
at a lavish feast.
Amaterasu sternly admonishes
her brother Susanowa
not to leave his chopsticks
standing up in the rice.
In Norway, the descendants
of Vikings who caught the eye of the Aesir
hold a boasting contest.
Frigga sighs over her son Thor
and says to him,
"Leave some mead for other people."
In Mexico, the cemeteries are filled
with picnics of tacos and marigolds
as families reunite.
People lay out baskets of bread
for the Ghedes who were
once their grandfathers and great-grandfathers
and nobody minds if they hog the food,
because death devours everything in the end.
* * *
Notes:
Amaterasu and Susanowa are Japanese deities. It is impolite to leave chopsticks standing up in rice or other food, because that is how offerings to the spirits are made. Historically the Japanese Emperor was considered divine.
Frigga and Thor are Norse deities. Boasting is a Norse skill that appears in some rituals.
Ghedes are death spirits of Afro-Caribbean culture. Mexican folks often have picnics in a cemetery to be with departed family.