Creon And Antigone Poem by Joseph S. Josephides

My drama is of black blood (Sophocles wiped a lot of it)
my son Hæmon replaced Polynices when he fell sick, but
killed each other with Eteocles for the throne of Thebes.

Being a parent I cried, but as a king I had to punish him:
'Eurydice, our son is the worst traitor; shouldn’t be buried, ’
His fiancee Antigone buried him (Eporidorix was buried
by his fiancee, but Mithridates generously gave a permit) .

I jailed her…but seer Tiresias foretold calamities against me,
I run to the cave to free her, but she had escaped, to shower
her body with dust, and kill herself over my son’s dead body.
Alas, Eurydice cast curses calling me as killer of our son,
she arrived at the pit, got two pieces of flesh torn by dogs,
‘oh, my children’ moaned and madly run back to the palace...

I hardly arrive and saw her drinking the hemlock in our bed
where gave birth to Hæmon. Lays the fleshes on her belly,
caresses them, sings lulls with a cry that drowns her breath.
I kneel down; my legs are bitten by same dogs near that pit.
I, as a snake, poisoned three cats which now they spit me,
became furies with red eyes, while Ismene consoles me
that she calls back Polynices as king, to bring tranquility.

My blood became black, blacker than the ink of Sophocles,
wish a tank of rosewater fell over me so I had rose perfume; *
I’m not so afraid of death but of not being able to live now on;
at Olympus we will be judged according to the law of love.