My fate is to carry Apollo’s curse;

He granted me the gift of prophecy

And then in a jealous rage, most perverse,

Prevented others believing in me.

I foresaw the thousand ships arriving,

I saw my Troy ravaged by angry flames,

But no matter how hard I was trying

No one was listening to my pleading claims.

Why it is that dreamer’s dreams are ignored?

Why do honest warnings fall on deaf ears?

Why the sweetest dreams fall pray to the sword,

And sincere forewarning is met by jeers?

My dream was to save my beloved Troy;

Sweet home that a wooden horse would destroy…

© P. J. Oszmann (2010)

Illustration: Ajax taking Cassandra; a Tondo* by the Kodros painter ca. 440-430 BC. (The Louvre, Paris)

* (Tondo=Renaissance term for a circular work of art)

Footnote:

Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy; her beauty impressed Apollo who granted her powers of prophecy. However, when she shunned his amorous advances, he placed a curse on her, so that no one would believe her predictions.

The Cassandra Metaphor (known also as syndrome, complex, phenomenon, dilemma, or curse) is a term applied to situations in which valid warnings are dismissed or disbelieved.

Warning:

Beware of the “Wooden Horses”; they are in our midst.