Eurydice Variations (2)
by Kathryn Hinds
2. I made him look. Oh yes, I made him turn — And I'll not soon forget his stricken eyes, Flared open as he saw and realized The thing for which I truly yearned Was not his love, nor yet the living green Of earth. It was the dark, unseen, undreamed That called to me; all else, all light, I spurned. Already to Persephone I'd made My pledge to help her nurse the sickened shades, And in my time in Hades I had learned To love the strength I wielded in the deeps And then the caverned rest surpassing sleep. I felt his sorrow, and I grieved his loss — But I'm more than just the grief of Orpheus.
Originally from the southern shore of Lake Ontario, Kathryn Hinds now lives in the mountains of north Georgia. Her poetry has recently appeared in Canary, 14 by 14, and The Lyric. With a handful of novels in progress, she's also the coauthor of a book on Celtic mythology and the author of more than fifty nonfiction books for young people, including the six-book series Creatures of Fantasy, due out in 2012. Kathryn sometimes moonlights as a belly dancer, but her main job, according to certain members of her household, is to ensure that cat food is available on demand.
When asked the name of her favourite fruit, Kathryn tells us "the coffee berry, whose seed yields the divine nectar of the great goddess Caffeina."
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