“What are words you hate, Athena,
“And what are the words you love?”
Until now I had never called her Athena
But here a tender intimacy was born
Among us and besides, I was real
Curious about Athena’s word preferences.
She hung fire for a moment, then she said
‘Equivalent! I hate that word what
“Only assholes speak. Words
‘Which one do I like? hmm, hmm Well, bouquet
‘Like me, except bouquet is rare
‘Heard since the old Victorian days.
“Wait, why did you call me Athena?
“Wait, I LOVE the word Antimacassar.”
Another Athena sonnet >>
Read a band of despair in my face
The plaintive Iliad of my tragic woe,
Drawn in my blood and printed in my sorrows
Forged by her hand that I have so honored.
Who, while I burn, she sings at the wreck of my soul
Looking up from the tower of their pride;
There she pleases the tyrant of my soul in the sack
From her own seat, from which I made her her guide.
There rises these smokes of distress,
Serve as incense to a cruel lady;
A sacrifice thrice thankful for her eyes,
Because their power serves to demand the same.
So she ruins to satisfy her will
The temple where her name was still honored.
— Samuel Daniel (1562-1619)
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