WHAT'S GOING ON? "RUIN"

“Life and death are balanced as it were on the edge of a razor.” ― Homer

After a long period of absence, and having found this site again; Hello, old friends and fellow writers! I have been busy, but I am well. I hope you are all in fine form and it is good to virtually interact with you again. I am joining you this week to take part in the prompt “Ruin”.

This poem has been inspired by Greek Mythology and comments on the ruin caused by earthquakes. Enceladus was a Giant, the son of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Sky). During the Gigantomachy, where gods and giants fought for supremacy to rule over the universe, the gods won. Enceladus was defeated by Athena, the goddess of wisdom and thrown in the depths of earth, imprisoned deep in the rocks. However, Enceladus every now and then tried to escape and to shake off the mountains that held him captive. Whenever that happened, earthquakes occurred on earth.

PS: Just in case you are interested, in my absence I wrote a novel, “The Nursing Home”. More about it here.

Enceladus

Enceladus

Sleeps and his slumber’s sound –

His usual napping underground

Untroubled by dark horses…

His languor soothing mighty forces.

The frightful Giant sleeps

And his vengeful hand he keeps

Relaxed, at ease, unmoving;

His mother, Gaia, looks on approving.

His eye starts to move and roll;

A muscle twitches, then his body whole.

He turns and tosses, quite disturbed

A nightmare gallops in, fury uncurbed.

The Giant wakes, his tail uncurls

His mane of wild hair shakes and swirls.

He roars, and arms he stretches

The rocks above him crack, the ground retches.

The earth is split

Ground quakes.

A deep dark pit

Opens, soil shakes.

The houses crumble,

Walls crack and break –

His roar a mighty rumble,

Destruction in its wake.

His sleep disturbed, his pain

Anew awakened, goads him,

And his rage in frustrated strain

Exhausts. His injured limb

He stretches, and Gaia above

Him shudders; her mother’s love

In sympathy making her cry

His pain and suffering decry.

Up, down, and side to side

The ground is turned to jelly;

As Enceladus tries to hide

Deeper in his mother’s belly.

Ruin complete and utter devastation

Above him death and trepidation –

(Athena victory forswore)

All this, revenge enough for

Enceladus…

TRAVEL TUESDAY 495 - VARNA, BULGARIA

“I would like travellers, especially American travellers, to travel in a way that broadens their perspective.” - Rick Steves

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.
Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Varna (Bulgarian: Варна) is the third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in the Northern Bulgaria region. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, the city has been a major economic, social and cultural centre for almost three millennia.

Historically known as Odessos (Ancient Greek: Ὀδησσός), Varna developed from a Thracian seaside settlement into a major seaport on the Black Sea. Varna is an important centre for business, transportation, education, tourism, entertainment, and healthcare. The city is referred to as the maritime capital of Bulgaria and has the headquarters of the Bulgarian Navy and merchant marine.

In 2008, Varna was designated as the seat of the Black Sea Euroregion by the Council of Europe. In 2014, Varna was awarded the title of European Youth Capital 2017. The oldest gold treasure in the world, belonging to the Varna culture, was discovered in the Varna Necropolis and dated to 4600–4200 BC. Since the discovery of the Varna Necropolis in 1974, 294 burial sites have been found, with over 3000 golden items inside.

City landmarks include the Varna Archaeological Museum, exhibiting the Gold of Varna, the Roman Baths, the Battle of Varna Park Museum, the Naval Museum in the Italianate Villa Assareto displaying the museum ship Drazki torpedo boat, the Museum of Ethnography in an Ottoman-period compound featuring the life of local urban dwellers, fisherfolk, and peasants in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The city beaches (also known as sea baths -морски бани, morski bani-, are dotted with hot (up to 55°С) sulphuric mineral water sources, used for spas, swimming pools and public showers. Small sheltered marinas are also found along the coast.