Orpheus and Euridice

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

Oil painting of Orpheus and Eurydice

Orpheus and Eurydice