'For crew, the Nereides* I will coerce,
they dwell underneath cerulean seas,
I shall summon them - you are not adverse?
They are tender, fervent divinities.'

Penelope with gesture eloquent,
signals her alacrity to accede.
The goddess scoops up some coarse sediment
for she needs shell-rich substance to succeed.

Whispering as to a lover, she strokes
devotedly, coaxing acquiescence,
small wonder tender persuasion invokes
immediate, ardent incandescence.

She scatters shell as if scattering seed -
what nymph would ignore this Goddess's need?