My name is Calypso

And this is for my Odysseus

My friend, my love, my world

Or so I thought

 

I was a goddes, powerful and strong.

You came to me stranded and alone

You came to me exhausted and torn

You came to me having lost everything to the storm

You came to me having battled monsters of your own

You came to me in need

And I provided for you

That was my mistake

 

As time went on, you grew strong

You subsisted on my love

and survived off of my care

You flourished in my paradise

I offered you eternal youth

I sought to make you immortal

I sought to make you a god

I gave up my powers willingly so that you could be strong

 

But you never accepted my generosity

You spent nights in my arms

And days on the beach

Wasting away waiting for a ship that would never come

 

I don’t know if you had some Penelope waiting afar

Or if you simply pined for another adventure

I don’t know why you decided I wasn’t worth your time

After seven years on Ogygia

Seven years In my arms

 

I was a goddess

Powerful and strong

I had the potential to conquer the world

Only you were my world

And I gave all my power to you

Thinking you would stay

Foolishly hoping you could love me the same way

I should have known better

 

They accused me of putting a spell on you

of tricking you and imprisoning you

But the truth is

You put a spell on me

With your eyes, so captivating

I could never leave your grasp

I couldn’t imagine life without you

 

But the gods couldn’t allow it

They reminded you of your quest

Your rapacious yearning was awakened

You could no longer be satisfied enough to stay

“Cruel folk you are, unmatched for jealousy,

you gods…” Who insist on breaking me

On taking the only love I’ve known

My only joy in this prison where you keep me

 

But that’s what happens when you don’t follow the rules

That’s what happens when you side with the losers

That’s what happens when you defy Zeus

Punishment is brutal to those who allow themselves to be used

 

I was foolish to think

A second rate goddess like me

Could ever earn the love of a mortal hero like you

So I tell myself I'm better off

I tell myself you weren't worth my power

I tell myself that you were selfish and cruel

Just like any mortal man

Just like any god

 

How can a goddess, powerful and strong

Imprisoned for her centuries of wrong

Ever keep a mortal man

You mortals, weak, who age and die

Like the wheat after bitter cold

You mortals, never satisfied

With the most I could give you

 

I never understood your longing to leave

But now, through foggy eyes, I see

That a life without love, however long

Is not a life worth living.