Herbert James Draper, British
Resistance Training, Circa 1200 B.C., 1909
Oil on canvas
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MASTERPIECE #2986
Herbert James Draper, British
Resistance Training, Circa 1200 B.C., 1909
Oil on canvas
Info, or links that point to more info, about this artist can be found here, here (archived if necessary), here, here, here, here, and here, perhaps in addition to what’s in his Wikipedia page.
/// Sirens’ songs seduced sailors with voices
so compelling, the men made rash choices.
They were drawn to the sound
‘til their ships ran aground.
Wrecked and drowned while the Siren rejoices.
/// But Ulysses had fearlessness vast.
He said, “Men, lash me fast to the mast!”
Sailors, ears stopped with wax,
(safe from aural attacks),
were prepared, the sharp rocks, to row past.
/// Still, Ulysses went mad when he heard
Sirens singing. (Some said they’re part bird.)
Men were told to ignore
his pleas: “Row toward the shore!!”
This is how, Homer said, it occurred.
/// But this painting has altered the tale.
Naked beauties with flesh smooth and pale
climb aboard the Greek boat,
barely keeping afloat,
Oars are blocked, but the ship has a sail.
/// Mermaid tails morph into naked thighs.
Their appearances? Lush tempting lies.
Would Ulysses survive?
His men not “take a dive”?
Only if the wax sealed shut their eyes.
/// When Ulysses said we must resist,
he said, “Plug up your ears, I insist.”
I can’t hear, but the twist
is, a nude looking blissed,
is right next to me, clutching my wrist.
/// She prevents me from moving my oar,
and I can’t row us further from shore.
I wonder, “What is she?”
‘Cause something is fishy!
They are not like the Sirens of lore.
/// True, the wax may have rendered me deaf,
but these Sirens can still bring on death.
Trouble is, having sex
underwater’s complex.
Just how long can a man hold his breath?
/// Try ignoring her manifest charms,
for each man she seduces she harms.
You’d best take my advice
or pay too high a price.
Strident Sirens should set off alarms.