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Twenty-one glosses on poems from The Greek Anthology
Antipholos
When Tereina was just a child,
I said, ‘This one will break a few hearts
when she grows up.’
Everyone laughed - me too -
but now it’s all come true.
Just to look at her
burns me up,
and look at her
is all I can do.
When I beg her
to put me out of my misery,
all she says is,
‘I’m a virgin.’
This will be the death of me.
Bassus
Turn into a shower of gold, a swan,
a bull, a bird? That’s too hard.
I’ll leave such fancy tricks to Zeus,
and woo Corinna with a credit card.
Lucilius
All this stuff you buy -
exfoliating scrub,
moisturiser,
foundation,
highlighter,
lippy,
eye-shadow,
eye-liner,
mascara,
coloured contacts,
wash-in hair dye -
wouldn’t a new face
work out cheaper?
- » Read notes
- Poet:
- Neil Philip
- Original language:
- English
- Issue:
- Series 3 No. 3 - Metamorphoses
About the author
Original poet
Neil Philip
Neil Philip has published two collections of poetry, Holding the World Together and The Cardinal Directions. His work has app...
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