Lyre by Sam Friedman
After Eurydice died, Orpheus, bereft,
chewed some magic
mushrooms, dreamed of
birds shitting his sandals,
Cerberus barking, lunging,
biting,
envisioned Charon demanding obols,
and a jug of wine,
for a ferry-ride to Hell.
He fantasized himself forgiving Hades for her death,
and imagined Eurydice striding alive again behind him,
remembered she had rejected him
to live with Cerberus and Hell.
When he woke up,
Orpheus sang, and composed his lies.
Bio
Sam Friedman writes: "I have been writing poetry for approximately 40 years, and benefitting from the
Murphy Workshops for about 25 of them. I am a population health professor, a social activist,
and a socialist as well as a poet."
Author's note
Each of my poems in this issue provides a modern take on ancient stories. "The Serpent’s Tale"
reinterprets the Biblical Garden of Eden parable, and "Lyre" is a recreation of the Greek myth of
Orpheus. Each of them had its inspiration from a virtual workshop sponsored by the amazing
Murphy Writing program at Stockton University. "The Serpent’s Tale" grew out of a workshop on
Building Worlds led by Christine Salvatore, "Lyre" from one on The Poet’s Myth led by Jason
Mitchell.
