Venice masks

Tuesday 9 February 2016

The Trunk of the Olive Tree (The Odyssey, Book XXIII) - Homer

An old trunk of olive
grew like a pillar on the building plot,
and I laid out our bedroom round that tree,
lined up the stone walls, built the walls and roof,
gave it a doorway and smooth-fitting doors.
Then I lopped off the silvery leaves and branches,
hewed and shaped that stump from the roots up
into a bedpost, drilled it, let it serve
as model for the rest. I planed them all,
inlaid them all with silver, gold and ivory,
and stretched a bed between—a pliant web
of oxhide thongs dyed crimson.

The Odyssey, Book XXIII, lines 1925-1936
Homer (c. 8th century BC) Ancient Greece
Whether Homer was a real person is disputed!
Translated by Robert Fitzgerald
Source: From The Odyssey of Homer, Translated by Robert Fitzgerald, 1961

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