Sophia the Martyr, by Sofia Kioroglou
What a weighty name
I must live up to!
A martyr and a saint
a widow and a mother
back in Roman Times
just as dystopian as our era
when Faith, Hope and Love
are tortured and burned over an iron grating,
then thrown into a red-hot oven,
finally into a cauldron with boiling tar
before bending their necks beneath the sword.
A grievous torture indeed to watch
the suffering of your daughters.
How could anyone
so little and small
like me be worthy of that martyr’s crown?
IMAGE: Icon of St. Sophia (died AD 137) and daughters Faith, Hope, and Love.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: The first time I learned about the meaning of my name was in primary school when we had a religion class. I got stunned and speechless and wanted to devour anything about the life and martyrdom of Saint Sophia and her three little daughters Hope, Faith and Love, who encapsulate the three Christian virtues. This poem is a tribute to the ordeal and suffering of a mother whose character is a paragon of virtue at least for me.
The following work is Copyright ©2017, and owned by Sofia Kioroglou. It is published on matia.gr with the written permission from the author which we are grateful for.