Sighs of the Sweet River

Drink from the divine river of Hades

 

Drink deep upon oblivion streams

 

Beyond Styx, the river of hatred

 

And Akheron, the river of sorrows

 

Kokytos, the river of lamentations

 

And Phlegethon, the river of flames

 

Sacred Lethe, river of forgetfulness

 

Flowing free from the cave of Hypnos

 

To enchant you into dreams of bliss

 

All pain and sorrow cleansed away

 

Drink from the divine river of Hades…

Author's Note

Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, was one of the five rivers of the Greek underworld. The shades of the dead were required to drink the waters of the Lethe in order to forget their earthly life. In the Aeneid, Virgil writes that it is only when the dead have had their memories erased by the Lethe that they may be reincarnated.

Reviews

[David Scott]

This poem reminds me of the popular song, "If I die young".
I love the photo.

[Coyote Poetry]

Amazing words my good friend.
"All pain and sorrow cleansed away
Drink from the divine river of Hades"
I like the purpose and the above ending. Maybe we may know peace one day? Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[An owl on the moon]

Yes, my friend... one day we will know peace as all the pain is washed away forever. Thank you for the peace you always give us here.

[Pax]

truly profound, its refresing to me to read the references on the greek methology, maybe because i am fascinated with their history. and it is always great to used it as allusion, connection upon connection to what you are trying to conveyed... beauty of words, indeed!

[An owl on the moon]

Pax, always wondrous to see you by! This one came to me by chance when doing research.. and loved the nature of the rivers.. Appreciate you! Have an inspired, happy week, my friend. :)

[Pax]

and you too, my friend... happy new week days... :)

[Poetic Beauty]

Love all the mythology added in this piece and really liked the last three lines.

[An owl on the moon]

Thank you for your comments! Sometimes forgetting can bring the deepest healing...

[Poetic Beauty]

So true. Writing I think helps a great deal too.