Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Cleopatra Mathis’s "Cleopatra Theodos" is a profound exploration of familial bonds, cultural identity, and the enduring strength of protective love in the face of historical and personal trauma. Through evocative imagery and the interplay of language and silence, Mathis crafts a narrative that bridges generations, illuminating the speaker’s relationship with her grandmother and the weight of inherited histories.

The poem’s title immediately draws attention to the grandmother, Cleopatra Theodos, a figure imbued with resilience and mystique. The opening lines establish a linguistic and emotional dynamic between the speaker and her grandmother: “We had language between us: her trick of pretending not to know English when she didn’t want to speak. I pretended not to know Greek.” This standoff becomes a metaphor for their relationship—a balance of assertion and withholding, where communication transcends words. Their mutual pretense underscores a deeper connection, one that operates on intuition and understanding rather than explicit dialogue.

The speaker’s childhood vulnerability is symbolized by the recurring imagery of sties: “sties flowered in my eyes. Around the iris red flamed its way, evil she could see settling in the rim.” The sties serve as a physical manifestation of internalized fear and tension, a tangible mark of the speaker’s affliction. The grandmother’s response, invoking “magic words” and a ritualistic chant, demonstrates her role as a protector. This act transcends cultural and temporal boundaries, drawing on ancient traditions and personal loss to combat perceived evil.

Mathis layers the poem with historical and personal grief, connecting the grandmother’s protective acts to her traumatic past. The line “to the twenty-four hours her first child lived and the scimitar’s blade in her mother’s belly” alludes to a history of violence and loss, specifically referencing the atrocities experienced during the Armenian Genocide. The grandmother’s memories of Ayvali, a place “stone’s throw from the ancient cities of grief,” anchor her personal suffering within a broader historical context, amplifying the stakes of her defiance against the devil. This intergenerational trauma becomes a source of power rather than paralysis, as the grandmother channels her pain into a fierce guardianship of the speaker.

The devil in the poem serves as a complex symbol, representing not only the personal afflictions faced by the speaker but also the pervasive forces of division and destruction. Mathis writes, “His gift for division could not stand up to the power of her losses.” Here, the grandmother’s strength is portrayed as an antidote to fragmentation and despair. Her actions—lifting the speaker’s chin, studying her face, and speaking “for heaven”—transform maternal care into an act of defiance against larger, unseen forces. Through this lens, the grandmother becomes a figure of mythic resilience, her love and faith capable of banishing darkness.

The final lines underscore the transformative power of connection and ritual: “With that music, with the light of her eyes, she whipped him, dismissed him, and he fled.” The grandmother’s words and gaze are depicted as luminous and musical, emphasizing the spiritual and redemptive aspects of her actions. This conclusion reaffirms the poem’s central theme: the enduring power of love and memory to counteract pain and division.

In "Cleopatra Theodos," Mathis masterfully intertwines personal narrative with cultural history, creating a vivid portrayal of a grandmother’s protective love and its lasting impact on the speaker. The poem is both a testament to resilience in the face of inherited grief and a celebration of the bonds that sustain us through life’s adversities. Through its rich imagery and emotional depth, the poem invites readers to reflect on the ways we carry, confront, and transform our shared histories.

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