There is a poem which threads through Dance The Colour Blue, refering back to The Odyssey. A plea from Penelope to be heard. Although, thanks to Homer, we can never be sure we are hearing this enigmatic character clearly.

The poem appears here in full. The third stanza is added for completeness. It did not feature in the play.

Penelope

Once on a overcast morning, I asked the messenger Hermes

Is time a dancing boy whose legs move bright with speed?

Tenderly taking my hand, he affirmed my familiar fate

Denizens, five score men, claiming a tenure of nature that’s yours

Me; tears stain my face entering more deeply into my heart

Swiftly days pass, Odysseus, for the dark chases them away

Three years last you laid by my side, must yet I prepare for three more?

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