Excerpt from Sappho Sings:
“Oh,sweet Melpomymnia gentle-hearted muse of sorrow, why can't I cry? Where are your tears now, dear muse, tears that flowed so freely for a fool? I loved her more than gods allow and now I've driven her away. What bitter gall remains of the horror I bestowed upon her leaving. Such bitter webs deception weaves. My eyes are dry and barren. Grief and guilt have imprisoned my tears. My soul retches, but my eyes cannot spew it forth. Life still flowed warmly in her veins. She was loath to waste a moment of it.”
Beautifully written, the text of this book could be put to music. Fall back into ancient times and walk with Psappha through the marketplace. You will smell the aroma of the spices, the rotting fish, and sense everything around her.
Psappha's story starts out as one of a life of many losses and circumstances over which she has no control. Losing her father, mother, home, freedom, forced to leave her homeland, and travel beneath her status, Psapha maintains a strong fortitude. As she grows older and wiser she gains fame and power, but also suffers betrayals. She drifts through her life of friends and lovers and at the end I could only be reminded of the words of Solomon, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!"
Sit outside on a beautiful day with a gentle breeze and read Sappho Sings.
This is a place for me to share my feelings toward the writing/publishing process in general. I call the place "Sappho Sings" because I feel her presence in my life as The Poetess just as some feel Homer as The Poet. Though she and I are separated by centuries, I hear her voice in the Timeless Universe. She is my idol, my muse, my soul mate. It is my privilege to honor her in my work.
Author's home page: http://peggyullmanbell.com
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