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Discord

The Goddess Discord once caused such upheaval
Up on Olympus—over just one little apple—
That the gods expelled her from their upper level.
Below, the animal named Man
Welcomed her with a receiving line,
Her and her brother, You-can't-I-can,
Also her father, That's-all-mine.
She honored us greatly by coming to earth here
In our superior hemisphere,
Not that below, whose peoples—opposites to us—
Are scarcely civilized, gross-mannered, barbarous,
And who, not tied in marriage by some priest or clerk,
Do not take part in Discord's work.
To find where Discord's talents might be welcomed, Fame
Spread rumors of her coming visitations
And, as the rumors spread, she came.
Where people argued she ran, arriving long before Peace,
And fanned small sparks to conflagrations
None could put out for generations.
At last Fame started grumbling that with no set place,
No known address where she resided,
Discord's true origin could never be decided—
Thus what was needed was a residence provided,
Where Discord could be sent away
By every family till a day
Whose coming should be long resisted.
But since back then no boarding schools as yet existed,
There was no place on earth designed
To keep her quietly confined,
And Discord chose the Inn of Marital Relations
As permanent headquarters for her operations.

Click on the image above for a larger view of the Stevovich etching of Discord. Hear a reading of Discord by Craig Hill from the companion CD to Beasts and Citizens: Audio discord.mp3 is 852KB Return to the complete List of Fables.