In My Bedsheets
Every night, I go to sleep with the Goddesses.
Silk sliding under soft cotton, the bedside light dims in a yawn,
And all at once, I am in Greece:
We cheer in Euclidean at my arrival through the clouds.
Before Christ! A day is far too long to go without a bevy.
Dusted in pillowy lilac and turquoise and coral,
The Goddesses tickle my nose and stroke my cheeks and wrists and hips,
My confidantes, counselors, and colluders of the ancient night.
Eyes flutter in a rapid race of chariots steered only by Nyx, Selene, and Eos,
Wings sweep past me in bronze blaze of something I cannot quite remember when
I am seized by Pheme in a trumpet of whispers who wishes to recount the day
Wearing fantastic masks of my sisters, stars, and strangers from the queue.
When Atropos joins our ensemble, I swiftly depart,
For a moment in a jug of water. I do not wish to be frightened tonight.
Hera beckons me back under the covers with visions of ruling as queen,
But they are simply for fun. I have been much longing to learn
How to hunt with Artemis in wild and windless fields,
How to counsel with Athena in echoing temples, and,
How to “walketh over the heads of men” with Até in reckless justice.
Tucked in the depths of these sheets, I can.
And all, except for lovely Aphrodite, turn a blind eye when a sweet boy comes to spend the night.
I wonder if he knows what he’s sinking into:
The table is set with figs and tarts and cheese, but the Goddesses offer
Him handshakes of honeyed pomegranate seeds instead.
Winter approaches and we’d adore some company…
O, O, Helios is beckoning Electryone to the glow of their sun and
The slender hallways of light tell me it is time to return home for the day.
In the mist of my own mythology made magical by a mirage of slumber,
This dozy half of life is our secret to keep.
Gentle Hypnos knows no such thing of my dream-island,
Where the Goddesses and I dance and cry and create and fly and swim and plot and shriek and rest
Endlessly,
All wrapped up in my bedsheets.
Epilogue
This poem was inspired by my actual bedsheets (see below!). Ancient Greek mythology is immensely intricate, so these words scarcely dip their toes in the cult world of folklore. Regardless of a dip or a plunge, I did write each line, each word, with careful consideration of classical ancient Greek culture. And since the poem is about sleep and dreams, those references are weaved throughout, too.
Please enjoy searching for these allusions or you are welcome to ask me for an analysis :)
There are many more Greek Goddesses in my dreams, but here is a list of the ones included in the poem. The Goddesses are all quite brilliant, and I encourage you to research more about the women you have not heard before. Who knows the power they still hold in this world today…
Nyx— goddess and personification of the night.
Selene— goddess and personification of the moon.
Eos— goddess and personification of the dawn.
Pheme— spirit and personification of gossip, scandal, and fame.
Atropos— one of the three Moirai (Fates), chose the manner of mortal deaths by cutting their threads of life.
Hera— goddess of marriage, women and family, and protected women during childbirth.
Artemis— goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals, nature, and vegetation.
Athena— goddess of wisdom, warfare, and strategy.
Até— goddess of mischief, delusion, ruin, and reckless impulse.
Aphrodite— goddess of love, lust, beauty, pleasure, sex, and desire.
Electryone— goddesses of the sunrise.
Greek Gods:
Helios— god and personification of the sun.
Hypnos— personification of sleep.
