NOTES ON "FLOODWATER BLUES"

"Floodwater Blues" is a poem that puts myth into a modern-day context.  It alludes to an ancient myth from the Trojan War that was told by Homer.  The Trojan Cassandra had been taught the art of prophecy by Apollo, and during their close relationship as teacher and student, Apollo had fallen in love with her.  She did not love him in a romantic or sexual way, however, and rejected his offers of intimacy.  This wounded him emotionally and drove him away, with the result that without Apollo's support, no one took Cassandra's prophecies seriously, although she could still prophesy accurately.  When she warned the Trojans to "beware the Greeks bearing gifts", the Trojans disregarded her and accepted the Trojan Horse, which ended in the slaughter of many Trojans, including Cassandra.

The poem "Floodwater Blues" explores the connection between the gods' emotional suffering and adverse environmental conditions, which is a common mythological theme. (It is also seen in the myth of Demeter where the earth is infertile until Demeter can be reunited with her daughter Persephone who had been kidnapped by Hades.)  "Floodwater Blues", however, stops short of making a causal connection between Apollo's sorrow and the relentless rainfall.  They are correlated, but it's left to the reader to decide whether the correlation is causal or coincidental.  The emphasis is on loving Apollo rather than on any selfishly-motivated attempt to appease him so the rain will stop.  The realization is that Apollo is having a much shittier time of it with his sorrow than the homeowner with the flooded basement and backed-up sewer.

In this poem, Cassandra not only loses credibility with the public, she doesn't even give accurate predictions.  In the end, she does not die, but quits her job or is fired.

The relationship between the homeowner and Apollo is loving, with neither blame nor submissive resignation toward him, since a causal connection between Apollo's sorrow and the flood has not been established.  The important point is that in the end, the clean-up gets underway, and the solidarity with Apollo is confirmed, even if it's expressed in terms of beer consumption -- a sometimes favorite way of expressing social solidarity in times good and bad.

--Phoebe 2002


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