Herb Kauderer
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Hephaestus

7/18/2015

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Misformed son
of unforgiving parents

you asked little
received less.

After your parents cast you out from Olympus
and Athena spurned your love
you received a wife
Aphrodite,
sad side effect of your father’s hate.

Even then your constancy
fathered Eros
a god of love.
A god of faith.

But your own love was unrewarded
with a most unfaithful wife
and even this you took
without retribution
working at your forge
creating.  Building.

Of all the gods who filled Olympus
you were the most like man,

the most like me
imperfect
a worker
a lover
a survivor

And of all the Greek gods
whose stories have been told
it is easiest to believe
that YOU are the one still there
beneath Mt. Aetna, working in the flames
surviving
even now.

I hope so.



first appeared in Midnight Zoo v1#5 1991
intended as part of a future collection titled
'Letters to Olympus'
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    Herb Kauderer

    These are just a few samples of my poetry formatted as blog entries.

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  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
    • Orthopedic Horseshoes
  • Academics
    • Teaching Experience
    • Education
    • Courses Taught
    • Professional Affiliations & Recognitions
    • Academic Presentations & Related Materials
    • Full Curriculum Vitae
  • Poetry
    • Poetry Chapbooks & Other Books
    • Poetry Samples
    • Links to My Poetry On-Line
    • "My First 508"
    • Interviews and Featured Poet appearances
    • Featured Readings
  • Writing
    • Accolades
    • Drama
    • Book Reviews >
      • 'Sacrificial Nights'
      • Moon Facts by Bob Scholfield
      • What Stranger Miracles
      • Crowned: Sign of the Dragon Book 1
      • 'The Role of Lightning in Evolution'
      • 'Why Elephants No Longer Communicate in Greek' by Timons Esaias
      • Brief Encounters with My Third Eye
    • Flash Fiction Links
    • Prose >
      • Short Fiction Bibliography
      • "A Dwarf for Each"
      • "Standard Repair"
      • "Sense of Place, Sense of Mystery"
      • Intro - Come-on from the Horse on 7th Avenue
      • "No Sense Fighting"
  • The SCA
    • SCA Photos 1
    • SCA Photos 2
    • Precedence for Andreas Hak
    • SCA Persona
    • Offices Held in the SCA
    • SCA Writings >
      • Serenity: A History of Eastern Coronets
      • "The Origin of The Betting Man's Guide
      • "The New Newsletter"
      • Old Newsletters
      • "The New Newsletter"
      • "When the VOID Was One"
      • "The Hael's First Baronial Champions Event"
      • "Aftermeetings: An Excuse to Tell Svid Stories"
      • "The Origin of Aethelmearc's Ancestral Pelican Medallion"
      • Remembering Durlome Rakesh d'Mithnan (Dwarf)
      • Growth Chart of Kingdoms for the First 23 Years of the SCA
      • Doings... An incomplete and informal chronology of the earliest days of Aethelmearc
      • History of the East Kingdom
  • Something Like a Blog