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To The So-Called Artist, Parrhasius
Parrhassius, you damned son of a bitch---
I hope your soul is Hell-seared: you know which
sin I mean, your abuse of that adolescent
beauty you purchased (quite often tumescent
when he was naked with other males, equally young);
to study the appearance of agony,
you ordered him to be tortured unmercifully,
his body broken, mutilated, and finally hung
until he succumbed. Did your careful observation
of his suffering (and oblivious to his pleas
for mercy) expand and enhance your artistry's
precision? And, after disposing of him, did you tell
yourself "All of it is justified for accuracy's
"sake?" I hope you are squirming upon a spit in Hell,
with no hope for a moment's reprieve from damnation.
Starward
Que horrible!
Que horrible!
here is poetry that doesn't always conform
galateus, arkayye, arqios,arquious, crypticbard, excalibard, wordweaver
Thanks for looking at the
Thanks for looking at the poem and commenting. I just learned of this historical incident yesterday, I realize life was considered cheap, in those days, but even so . . . torturing a young man just to learn from his sufferings in order to depict a mythological figure's torments with accuracy? Horrific.
Starward