1. An Underworld
“. . . a heart without pity.”
—Theogony
s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e
s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e
s h a d e s h a d e
s h a d e H a d e s s h a d e
s h a d e s h a d e
s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e
s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e s h a d e
2. An Eden
“In the middle . . . were the tree of life and the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil.”
—Genesis 2:9
g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n
g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n
g a r d e n g a r d e n
g a r d e n D A N G E R g a r d e n
g a r d e n g a r d e n
g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n
g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n g a r d e n
3. An Exile
“Wherever you look, . . . huge vistas of empty steppe.”
—Black Sea Letters, I, iii
v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d
v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d
v o i d v o i d
v o i d O v i d v o i d
v o i d v o i d
v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d
v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d v o i d
Robert West’s poems have most recently appeared in Alabama Literary Review, Light, Lighten Up Online, Still, and Snakeskin; his chapbook Convalescent appeared from Finishing Line Press in 2011. “A Classical Triptych” is dedicated to William Harmon, whose “Concrete Seascape” inspired it.