I didn’t retouch Orpheus and Eurydice, but I did write a sonnet about them:
Orpheus and Eurydice
In myth, a man could claim from death the one
he loved, could find the entrance to the place,
spelunk its spacious, hallways woebegone,
Cerberus quell with serenade, retrace
his steps and charm the beasts, flatter Hades
in his lair with a voice so soulful sweet
and mien so comely, naiads, dryads, ladies
fair, languished ‘bout. Yet how this feat
resolved in naught is cautionary, the stuff
of tales: Eurydice lost by a backward glance
as Orpheus led the way. It’s like enough
his turning round was nothing but mischance,
but when I think, I’m impelled to query,
“Was her walking behind him necessary?”
NBH