Amanda Aremisia Forrester
I sing the daughters of Mnemosyne, Muses Nine
Sweet Inspirers of all arts fine
I call you to attend to my song
Written in your honor, beauteous Goddesses
Who delight in ink spilled in their names
First I sing of Kalliope, the eldest
Who tells the epic tales
Grand deeds of ancient heroes and noble kings
Mother of Orpheus, the Thrakian poet
Torn asunder by Dionysos’s maddened women.
Lovely Erato of soft voice, she
Who sings the glorious melding of lover’s bodies
Of sweat, of heat, of illicit kisses hidden in the dark
Brawdy limericks and love poems alike
Owe their origin to Erato.
Holy Historian Kleio
Pouring over ancient tomes
Rememberer of the forgotten
Whose stories bring the dead to life
So that we may learn from our past.
Euterpe plucking her lyre strings
Smiling mysteriously
She rarely speaks with words
She speaks in melodies, in musical notes
And the silences between them.
Laughing Thaleia full of mirth
Celestial comedian of toothy grin
Bright eyes crinkling
With the laughter of a thousand years
Pleasant company, she is always welcome
Tragic Melpomene behind her mask
Whom sad-eyed Goths adore
Inspirer of sad and lonesome tales
From Oedipus’s misfortune and Troy’s fall,
To Macbeth’s treachery and Hamlet’s madness
Terpsikhore dancing her whirling dance
Supple body bending, twisting
Swirl, spin, whirl, prance,
Like a reed in the wind
All eyes upon her, all souls entrance
Polyhymnia sing thy sacred hymns
Praise raising like incense to the skies
She who inspires holy piety
Songs like veils o’er thy limbs
And worship shining from thy eyes
Ourania, sacred astrologer
Rich-haired Muse of Science
Patroness of astronomers,
Speaking star-wisdom
Bent over her globes and charts
Glorious Goddesses, bless me
Attend the singing of my voice
And the scratching of my pen
And I will honer you e’ermore
In thought, in song, and deed.
neosalexandria 