Continued on Next Rock

But Sheryl Smith finds it : It's an eternal return story, the unsuccessful love that goes on forever. Anteros (=anti + eros) is the man (myth) who loves but can't be loved, and Magdalen is the woman (myth) who is loved but can't love anyone in return. They continue to meet through time, and when they do, it's a catastrophe: she's destroyed by his pursuit, and he's doomed to endless misery. All the translations - that beautiful, acrid verse - are from their encounters in the past, and the story hints that they will continue to meet and destroy each other in the future. It's a gorgeous, painful, beautifully structured tale. The imagery winnows your mind like knives and the symbols ring like gongs.