Cassandra's Disease Poem by William E. Marks

As a child she was introduced to Earth’s ocean home below
to a large family hierarchy of seemingly endless waves of life
Her grandfather took her by her small hand and said
“Come with me Cassandra, let me show you what I see”
So, into the flowing kingdom she slowly descends
being born again as her eyes and mind transcends
Away from the world above where people live on land
whose behavior was oblivious to life in liquid world below

Years come and go as the young girl travels and learns to see
with Apollo’s gift of color and grandeur of worlds coming to be
Hidden beneath the surface she discovers dimensions anew
which she embraces with arms filled with passion for blue
As she grows – she begins to see more deeply
and soon awakens upon hearing Poseidon’s warnings in the sea
For it was Poseidon who conspired with Apollo at Delphi
to fashion the vision of seeing the future of things to be

Then entered the world of the beautiful Cassandra
who upon walking into Apollo’s field of mortal vision
Touched His heart and fired His godly loins to seduce her
so He tried to impress her with the gift of “seeing” the future
Feeling He should now collect His due, he tried to undress
the beauty of body fate made manifest as femme fatale
But Apollo’s advances Cassandra did scorn
so He fashioned a scheme to have her regret being born

With blighted heart and clouded cold mind
Apollo contrived to rob Cassandra of being believed
Each time Cassandra issued forth her warnings and prophecies
upon deaf ears her warnings would descend
Helplessly would Cassandra be as her city of Troy was invaded
and city leaders and warriors decided not to hear her pleas
of Trojan horse and plots of pillage and burning destruction
thus she was forever stricken with “Cassandra's Disease”