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Forgotten Ground Regained

THE DANAÏDS, ENRAPT

In Forgotten Ground Regained, New Series, Issue 12, Speculative Visions, Fall 2026
You do not ever deign to speak our names,we Danaïds who did as daddy said,we duteous daughters everybody blames,by whose devotion darling bridegrooms bled.
And Danaüs? Where’s Danaüs these days?At slumber in the deep repose of death!He dealt us torment, though he promised praise,so now we damn him with our barren breath.
We sinners do not doze, we do not dream,consigned to dull and dreary misery.Yet we are not as downcast as we seem,our souls undaunted by this drudgery.
How do we deal with hell that never stops?We've learned to love the sound of dripping drops.
Painting of the Danaïds by Jan Frans De Boever (1872–1949)
Copyright © Stephanie A. McCarter, 2026
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