Thursday, July 15, 2010

Modern Othello






By Mory Keita


I pictured myself at her feet, holding her hands,
Quixotically asking with admirable élan,
“Would you take me for a husband, O dear Desdemona?”
Oh! she looks at me, one hand on her breasts,
Somehow happy, an indiscernible joy,
And Somehow with pity and she replies tottering,
“O charming Othello, perhaps with a diamond ring.”           

Have chivalrous customs lost their worth?
O diamond, heavenly crystal of delight,
Treasure of kings and Muse of modern men,
Why must thou interfere with my love and happiness?

O princess Desdemona, what dost thou wish?
If thou want power, I shall grant to thee my kingdom,
If thou wish other riches,I shall provide them unto you:
Golden Tapestries from the land of the Arabs,
Furs from the wondrous country of Mongolia,
Potteries from Nubia and all Africa and Asia,
Woolen garments from cashmere,
And bibliothèques of knowledge from the Jew;
Or if thou wish, I shall conquer everything beneath the horizon,
Or I shall ordain Moors to build a golden temple in thou name.

And she replies with  soft melodic tunes,
 “O noble Othello, my heart cherishes a diamond ring,”
O Diamond, how did thou corrupt my Desdemona’s eyes?
I have offered her all riches dear to women’s heart.

 I look into her eyes, seeking an answer and say,
“Now, O sweet Desdemona, why dost thou refuse all?”
Again I ask, “Is thou love of diamonds greater than thou love for me,”
And she replies, “No my dear, diamonds are untamed by time, so will our love.”


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24 comments:

eyeography said...

Fabulous...loved your poem all the way...
:)

Rinkly Rimes said...

At first I thought she was a gold-digger, but she was clearly noble at the end.

Anonymous said...

Elegant poem with smooth words and vivid imagery, well done!

-- Gally
LestISmiteThee.wordpress.com

Robert Lloyd said...

Wonderful story weaved through the poem. At first I was like...give her the diamond Othello...He could give her everything else. But I di drealize it was the principal and not the object that made it important. Great work as always Mory.

Mory said...

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this poem.

Jhpoetry said...

Classic piece...has a Shakespearen style too it. Very nice~~`

Anonymous said...

Love the last line, it is really great:D, thank for sharing :D

Diane T said...

An extremely well designed poem! Great work!

Mory said...

Thank you very much for reading. i feel like this poem lacks of an ending.

Mory

Ron said...

Excellent poem that is well written, good job.

Javed Hayat said...

Very nicely done. My personal favorite happens to be

"Have chivalrous customs lost their worth?
O diamond, heavenly crystal of delight,
Treasure of kings and Muse of modern men,
Why must thou interfere with my love and happiness?,"

Impressive. Keep writing. :)

signed...bkm said...

Lovely read and story....I throughly enjoyed it...Bravo!!! to you Mory....bkm

Mory said...

Thank you everyone for your sweet words and for taking time to read and comment.

Mory

Weasel said...

A wonderful take on the prompt!

-Weasel

Anonymous said...

wonderful read i love the last line<3 and i totally agreed on that :) Thank for sharing^^

Mary said...

What a beautifully crafted poem which tells such a noble and classic story.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

so gentle and cool,
thanks!

rch said...

Hi Mory, this one is quite elegant and I love the feeling in it, outstanding!

Djene said...

I read the poem but I don't get the message. what is she referring to in the last sentence?

Carrie Van Horn said...

A beautiful poem! Awesome take on the prompt! :-)

Mory said...

Djene, the last line basically summarize the entire poem. Desdemona tells Othello that she wants a diamond ring because diamonds are not altered or affected by time so their love will be the same.

Djene said...

Okay, I now get it. Thank you.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/awards-from-the-blogging-universe/one-lovely-blog-award/

two awards 4 u.

Mory said...

it is a pleasure for me to accept this award jingle. thank you very much for your support.

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