Destiny's Children - A Quatrain Poem by Rishit Desai

Destiny's Children - A Quatrain



Thetis held Achilles by his heel and dipped him in the Styx,
Gandhari's vision made Duryodhana impervious, but for his Fix;

A Mother may try all to shape His destiny and fate,
Alas! the struggle is as good as lost, when it is against Time and Date.

POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
Mythological Background:

In Homer's Greek Epic 'Illiad', Thetis tried to immortalize her son Achilles by dipping him in the river Styx. For this she held him by his heel and immersed him in the river. Since the portion of the heel could not come in contact with the water, it remained vulnerable. In the Trojan war Achilles was subsequently killed by an arrow which struck him exactly at that portion of his heel.

Similarly, In Ved Vyas's Indian Epic 'Mahabharata', Gandhari, the mother of Duryodhana had accumulated power through penance (remaining blindfolded for years together) such that when she would remove the blindfold the person whom she would see first would be indestructible. She asked her son to appear in front of her completely naked and she would open her eyes. Being embarrassed to go completely naked in front of his mother, he covered his groin with a piece of cloth (or leaves) . His enemy Bhima killed him in war by striking a mace at this very place.
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Avik Datta Gupta 03 August 2012

Really a short and sweet wonder...shine on! ! !

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Payal Parande 09 July 2012

.....................................................you must be thinking what the space means well its nothing i am just speechless...

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finally something new to my eyes.. well done..

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Neela Nath Das 05 June 2012

Thus the phrase came-Achilles heel means the weakest point of anyone's character.Very nicely told within a short span of limited words.

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