Renowned for her great beauty in all of the land.
Though her beauty was great, and many men loved her,
Still none would ask for her hand.
So she cried and she cried, and she pondered as to why,
The reason she could not find a man,
And thought, if I can't find a man, I'll die if I can, so she flung herself off of a cliff.
On her way down, she hit a soft branch,
And the tree braced her safely to ground.
She then realized that she, oh no, was still breathing!
So she set off to find her a hound.
She searched and she searched, till she found the dog Stan,
And asked, please help me end my life, if you can.
The dog stared for a moment, then quickly ran up,
Giving puppy kisses from her head to her toe.
The girl stood in shock, and slightly frustrated,
For this dog would not help to escape her cruel woe.
So she looked and she looked, till she came to a river,
Where she shouted, goodbye cruel world!
And she jumped right in, only to see
The water's depth hardly reached to her knee.
She stood in the water and began to cry.
Why could she not find a way to die?
So she cried to the gods, Oh Venus, please hear,
I no longer wish to live; please find me a cure!
Then Venus sent down a small clear glass vile,
Filled with a liquid that was ever so pure.
And the girl smiled and thought finally, my days are at an end,
I will never have to see the light of day again.
But as she drank, she realized what potion it was; it extended her life, and the great Venus had lied!
The girl scorned the goddess, then stomped firmly away,
Determined to figure out some other way.
And as she was trotting, she found a small dwelling,
A shed that was covered with hay.
So she peeked just inside, only to find
A sharp blade that could end her today.
So she drove the sharp blade deep in her bosom, and cried gods please carry me away!
She felt as if she was breathing her last,
When an old man came round to help the poor girl out.
He was a witch doctor, and a witch he sure was,
For he mended the girl, there's no doubt.
The girl opened her eyes and let out a scream,
Wondering why he needed to save her,
Then the man said, my son, he's in love with you;
I could not let you die, or my son would try to die too.
The girl's interest was piqued, a boy, you dare say?
Are you sure, old man, that he loves me this way?
The man nodded a yes, and the girl, she was sold,
She would marry this boy, and with him, grow old.
So off she ran, far across the land, looking for the boy she'd been promised,
But then all of a sudden, despite all her luck,
The girl, by lightening, was struck.
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| The lightening bolt that struck and killed the lovestruck girl Source: Wikipedia |
Author's Note/Bibliography: I originated this rhyme from Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche, translated by Tony Kline from the book, Golden Ass (2013). The actual story is not much like the rhyme at all, but in the story, Psyche is constantly trying to commit suicide but all the gods keep saving her, so that's where I got the idea from. In the story, Venus actually hates Psyche because of her beauty, and wants to kill her, but here I was just trying to use a goddess in the rhyme so I used Venus. In addition, in the actual story, Psyche only tries to die from jumping off cliffs and into rivers, so I added a few other different attempts as well. Also, Psyche actually lives happily ever after with her husband, but I thought it would be ironic and a little funny to have her die by a lightening strike at the end.
This is one of the most creative storytelling posts I have read to date. I love how you made it a poem! When I first opened the post and saw the format I was immediately excited to see how you would make it rhyme and what style poem you would use. Your use of rhyming words did not take away from the story at all. I followed it just like I was reading a paragraph and was not confused or distracted by the poem format. The story was great too! I did not see the ending coming at all so I was completely surprised. I love how you took the basic concept of Psyche trying to kill herself, and expanded it to include multiple scenarios. Great job and very creative!
ReplyDeleteWow. I saw the poem style and I had to comment! I love that you retold Cupid and Psych in a poetry format. I read the story myself for my first unit and it blew me away. I remember that story as well from the unit! You even put your own twist on the story as well which keeps it interesting in a different way. I almost prefer this version to the original! She definitely tries to kill herself in so many different ways in the original due to Venus and Cupid running off. I really hope to read more from you, because this is very creative.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite writings that I have read in the class. The humor and the character's passion and desire for drastic action rang home. The lesson I took away most from this story can be summarized with the commonly quoted, "Never too high, never too low." Definitely the funniest story I have read so far. Outstanding job!
ReplyDeleteThis story was amazing! Like many of the other people who have commented on this, I would also say this has to be my favorite story all week. You were so creative with your poem in telling this story, I didn't want it to end. By the way, the ending was hilarious! Poor girl kept trying to kill herself because she could not find a husband, and when she fails to end her life and finally finds a husband, she dies. Haha great work!
ReplyDeleteSince I’ve already commented on your Introduction, I decided to comment on this story, even if it was from Week Three. And wow! Your poem is impressive. I really liked how you were inspired by the reading unit. You could have stuck to the original storyline, but instead decided to take an aspect of the story and to make it your own. Psyche really was trying to kill herself a lot (I read this reading unit as well). Not only did I like the idea behind the story you came up with, I enjoyed your humor as well. Oh, the irony at the end.
ReplyDelete