Are the Ancient Gods Dead?

So these 4th Century AD lines tell us...attributed to the Pythia at Delphi

(from The Penguin Book of Greek Verse, ed. Constantine Trypanis)

A song I wrote back in 1968, inspired in part by these lines:


Delphic Oracle (1968)



Go tell the King

The water that spoke has been silenced

Go tell the King

The wine that once spoke has turned bitter



Go tell the King

The birds that once sang have migrated

That all of them now flock together

That eagles and doves are now brothers



Go tell the King

That jackdaws preside in the palace

Under the eyes of invisible vultures



Go tell the King

That far-off the birdsong is building

That talons and beaks are being sharpened



Go tell the King

That the palace will crumble in ruins

That no one will ever rebuild it:


Go tell the King these things.



(First published in Corfu Blues, the book)