Poem of the month - April 2006
On Pharos
Four hollows and four seal-skins
on the beach, by a cave, their stink
undercut by the faint scent of ambrosia;
some tracks, of wild boar and panther;
the scales of a serpent; the hair,
perhaps, of a bearded lion;
torn leaves from a tree
when there were no trees anywhere near;
and, round a puddle of fresh water,
scorch-marks in the sand
and the signs of a struggle.
Seemed quiet enough now, though,
so we went and got our towels from the car.
By Robin Robertson
From Swithering (Picador, 2006) |
About the poet
His poetry appears regularly in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker and the Times Literary Supplement, and he is represented in a number of anthologies, including The New Penguin Book of Scottish Verse, The Penguin Book of Poetry from Britain and Ireland since 1945 and Penguin Modern Poets 13 (with Michael Hofmann and Michael Longley).
His second collection, Slow Air, was published by Picador in February 2002. The following year he edited Mortification: Writers' Stories of Their Public Shame (Fourth Estate). In 2004 he was chosen as one of the twenty Next Generation Poets, and he received the E.M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Swithering is the Poetry Book Society Spring Choice, and has been shortlisted for the 2006 T.S. Eliot Prize. |
About the poem
Robin says 'The last poem in Swithering is called Holding Proteus and both it and On Pharos make use of a story from the Odyssey.
Menelaus, King of Sparta, recalls being becalmed under the spell of the gods on the island of Pharos. He is advised to capture Proteus - the Old Man of the Sea - a soothsayer and a shape-shifter who always tells the truth, but who so dislikes being questioned that he will assume any form to avoid his questioners. Menelaus and three of his crew lie in wait, covered in freshly flayed seal-skins (with a dab of ambrosia under their noses to counteract the stench), and surprise the sea-god outside his cave on the beach. They hold him tight as he changes successively into a variety of animal, vegetable and elemental forms before returning to the human. Proteus is then obliged to break the binding spell, free the waters and direct Menelaus home.
On Pharos describes the scene of the crime, as it were. While not exactly side-splitting, it is the only poem of mine that runs the risk of being described as "amusing"'. |
If you have enjoyed this poem, you can borrow a range of poetry from the Scottish Poetry Library, who also lend by post. Telephone 0131 557 2876 or email reception@spl.org.uk. For an online catalogue, poetry events listings and more featured poems, please visit the Scottish Poetry Library website. |