Penelope

[Entries Closed]

 

Penelope

-noun
1. Classical Mythology. the wife of Odysseus, who remained faithful to him during his long absence at Troy.
2. A faithful wife.
3. A female given name: from a Greek word meaning “weaver.”

 

Trivia

Penelope is the wife of the main character, the king of Ithaca, Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman mythology), and daughter of Icarius and his wife Periboea. She only has one son by Odysseus, Telemachus, who was born just before Odysseus was called to fight in the Trojan War. She waits twenty years for the final return of her husband,[6] during which she has a hard time snubbing marriage proposals from 108[7] odious suitors.
On Odysseus’s return, disguised as an old beggar, he finds that Penelope has remained faithful. She has devised tricks to delay her suitors, one of which is to pretend to be weaving a burial shroud for Odysseus’s elderly father Laertes and claiming that she will choose a suitor when she has finished. Every night for three years, she undoes part of the shroud, until some unfaithful maidens discover her chicanery and reveal it to the suitors.
Because of her efforts to put off remarriage, Penelope is often seen as a symbol of connubial fidelity.

(And if your curiosity is peaked… try here.)

 

Tasneem Kudrati (124)

Penelope

Natural endeavor begins,

Cold lies faithful to hot
To unravel the woven season
Here we see the Penelope

Autumn trees awaits for spring
To have its leaves back on it
Here we see the Penelope

Birth then meets death
After it rotates the cycle
Here we see the Penelope

When man and nature coincide
To restrain the earth
Here we see the Penelope

Ironic end

When winter encounters summer
Intrusion is unlikely
Here do we see the Penelope

When trees begs for rain
To secure their survival
Here do we see the Penelope

When nature balance of being
Remains unfaithful to itself
Here do we see the Penelope

When man and nature clashes
To destroy the earth
Here do we see the Penelope

 

Jenny (125)

Her contoured letters were characteristically rounded. She could be a gifted calligrapher and design unfettered words.

Perhaps just a hand lettered inscription would do. It would supersede the legibility of her thoughts. Scattered words – her twinkling stars in the sky, unsullied but distant. Few words, more gregarious than the others and the loners, were always attested. She would sit for hours and watch mundane words stroll around in homogenous groups . Pedants had a special coterie and sauntered in a structured fashion. She smiled coyly when the occasional soulful phrase passed by.

She looked at her world condensed in the paleness of her writes.

{A slit wrist OR a slut writ} .Blood screamed out in the silence of the night.

Penelope – the poetry!

Erased.

 

Nandini (118)

“Bond – Penelope Bond ” she uttered while pulling the trigger. The bullet struck him between the eyebrows. She’d finished another mission successfully.

She’d inherited everything from her dad. His élan, good looks, taste for fine things, craving for racy lifestyle, and even the same profession,
Penelope connected a call: “James, get yourself to the airport within 30 minutes. Mauritius is waiting for us. We need to celebrate my success.”
James: “Penelope, your timing is wrong, I’ve just about stirred my Martini”
Penelope smiled while hanging up. Only her dad called her Penelope.
While on job, it was also the reason why she loved using her name, the way he did his. It was her tribute to him.

 

Rush.Me (88)

Hail, the great Almodovar’s muse;

Live Flesh would be up to no good;
Don’t Move;
Framed in
The Greek Labyrinth;
All the Pretty Horses could not break free;
If only, she could be the
Girl of your Dreams, in
The Hi Lo Country;
A Woman on top by all means, playing away
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin,
Blow your senses, high to a
Vanilla Sky, with your
Head in the clouds and
Open your eyes. Reciting the
Elegy to wish you
The Good Night and
Volver to
Vicky Christina Barcelona.

 

DokSaab (120)

Penny My Love (Well, you are, still),

I am going back to Italy, forever. You are now free to marry, or whatever, Agel. So it was he you chose while I was away. How foolish of me, I thought you were missing me. Your letters always made me think so. You can’t imagine how agonizing those two years were for me. Away from you, always thinking of you, avoiding overtures of those flirting batch-mates, it was tough. The first chance I got, I rushed to meet you, to surprise you. I was shocked instead, to find you in Agel’s arms. My heart shattered. Ironic isn’t it, your parents named you ‘Penelope’. ‘Circe’ would have been a better choice.

Love

Ulix

 

Sarang Mahajan (119)

‘Whoooooooo?’

Yes, that was how the ominous, whistling storm sounded. A slave sent by her master, Hurricane Penelope questioned the culprit in her clutches again and again.

‘Whoooooooo?’
‘Whoooooooo?’
‘Who dares mess with my master?’
‘Who steals my master’s treasure?’
‘Whoooooooo?’

First she ripped open the factory, peeling off its roof like a cardboard sheet and tossing it skyward. Then she entered inside and… god knows did what, but all the fish caught over the last week came out flying and spiraled into the dark and angry clouds. Then came the machines, dissembled into million parts. Off they went into the sky. When nothing remained inside, she crumbled the walls. And moved to the next culprit.

‘Whoooooooo?’
‘Whoooooooo?’
‘Whoooooooo?’

 

Grimgore (120)

“Honey, I am home. What’s for dinner?”
“Lasagna”
“You never told me you can make Lasagna. Hope you haven’t put mushrooms.”
“Yes I know…you told me about your fungal allergy long back”
“Hmm… by the way, I met John Cruz today, your old college friend”
“Oh really, how is he? Where did you meet him? ”
“At Crossword. He is studying Homer’s work. We had an interesting conversation regarding you.”
“You did?”
“Yes about your name. It implies “faithfulness”. I didn’t know the meaning until now.”
“Hmm…have your dinner its getting cold”

And so Penelope served the mushroom filled lasagna to him acting against what her name implied. Soon she will have his wealth and her love…John.

Et Tu Penelope….

 

Tale Twister (120)

Reporters conversing at a book launch…

“Psst…, any clue what’s the book plot?”
“No idea, the press release contained only the title of the book – Penelope”
“Guess it’s a controversial plot. The writer is a debutante – perhaps that’s why the publishers were silent about the plot. Adds to the hype”
“Yes, it’s all to create hype. Perhaps the story is the biography of a woman of substance”
“I think it’s a thriller, perhaps the main protagonist is Penelope, the victim of some crime”
The writer arrives…
Amidst many questions he raises his voice, “Firstly a clarification about an error: The title is not “Penelope” its “Pen Elopes”. The story is about a pen eloping with a whitener against family opposition…”

 

Dhruv (119)

27/01/2002

The single most incredible fear of my life came true today.
I saw Penelope in the mall, after two years.
My serene disposition shattered like a fragile glass.
That feeling of being dropped from the top of a building was back in an instant.
I jumped behind a shelf, trembling, hiding my burnt face that always startled her.
I’d remain there, but then…
My old self stirred… with the same old request.
And I walked across slightly… to seize that one, priceless glimpse of her as she was leaving with her daughter.
She was still the same, gorgeous Penelope I had loved all my life.
Her lovely smile could still make me forget the pain of not having her.

 

Miracle Drug (118)

Twenty winters she waited

Her affections wavered not.
We know not how our eyes might see,
But oh! What a beauty she was!

Eight and hundred suitors there were,
Their pursuit, relentless.
The adoration, though she did enjoy
Her heart, on Odysseus, was set.

A vagrant then did arrive, appallingly audacious
“To marry Penelope, my sole desire.”
“One condition,” she declared,
“Odysseus’ bow thou shalt string- the arrow, pierce twelve axe shafts.
The victor, my mate shall be.”
A soft snicker, she settled to watch,
For the bow would yield to Odysseus,
And none other.

The beggar, victorious did emerge
Incredible, though it seemed.
Thus spake he,”It is I, Odysseus, my love.
To thy fidelity, I do bow.”

 

 

Chattergirl (149)

(Not for kompetition)

Chat with Odisis

 

From      Odisis <odi.sis@trojanwar.homr>

To           penl.o.p@trojanwar.homr

Date        Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 12:30

Subject   Chat with Odisis

 

 

12:30   Odisis: Darling!!

12:31   me: Honey!!

12:32   Odisis: Sweetheart!!

12:33   me Missing you, it’s been so long!!

12:34   Odisis: The horse was such a bloody good idea.

12:35   me: I know honey!! You are so smart!!

12:36   Odisis: What about you?? How are you handling the suitors??

12:37   me: Ah, Don’t ask! Doing & undoing knots was never so useful…

12:38   Odisis: Mighty clever, my girl!!

12:39   me:  When are you coming home?

12:40   Odisis: Soon, but when I do, you shall not be able to identify me!

12:41   me:  Ah! I know all your masquerades!!

12:42   Odisis: Oh really?? That we shall see!!

 

———- Forwarded message ———-

From: penl.o.p@trojanwar.homr

 

Interview for suitors.

Those desiring my hand shall string Odisis’s rigid bow and shoot an arrow through twelve axe shafts.