Paean to Pain

Leda's body stretched
Taut pulsating life
Emerging deep within

David cries out to God
Weeping in the night
Finding joy in the morning

Semele struck
Blind burning
In ecstasy
Dionysus reveling
In madness

Samson betrayed
Trapped between pillars
Pulls ruin like a shroud
Of light around him

Prometheus liver
Whole once more
Watches the sun rise
And grins
As vultures swarm in

--Bill Stifler, © 2019

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