Neckouts II: Oenone

A ballad of loneliness.

Darryl Francis wrote in with about 45 more neckouts in response to yesterday’s article. I won’t give them all away here (he might be doing something with them for the Journal), but one jumped right out at me: “She Misses Him,” a song by Tim Rushlow.

It struck me that this phrase was a very apt description of Oenone, another neckout, who could be considered the first casualty of the Trojan War. When Paris took Helen of Troy for his wife and started all the fighting…he was already married, to Oenone, a magical nymph.

Oenone didn’t exactly move on after Paris left her. She sent their son to kill him, predicted the Trojan War, and did her best to encourage it. When he came crawling back to her, badly wounded, she refused to heal him…then regretted that decision enough to throw herself on his funeral pyre. Greek mythic figures didn’t do things by halves.

I tried my hand at a quick neckout poem, mostly making use of what Darryl and I have found so far. Some of the words and phrases from yesterday seemed to slot themselves right in. There are spots that might need a little more refinement, but I think it shows enough potential to be worth the pursuit!

Oenone

She misses him.

Let it lie.

Reappear?

He won’t. The now

is all as ill

as ion-miasm. No…

the nod: he’d not

stayed steady.

“Married admirer.” 😒

I put it up:

a pod into adoption.

No son’s

latent talent,

legal age,

is wasted, was sited

away from foamy war.

Will Korythus throw sulkily?

Paris…will rosy Korythus kill you? Sharp, ’tis worry! 🙄

Times smite:

War’s o so raw.

She misses him.