Tale as Old as Time: Storytelling and RelationshipsThe creation of stories has allowed human history to continue to evolve and grow. Storytelling has been ingrained in cultures as a way to pass down lessons and history. The universal theme of love can be translated from language to language, culture to culture, allowing empathy to mature from hearts and minds in every walk of life. However, love can have many sides to its coin. Love can be expressed through the betrayal of those same hearts and minds, or be an act of defiance. Love transcends boundaries and walls, but can create new ones in their place. In its difficult paths, people have been able to maneuver love through the lessons of the past. In Aimee Nezhukumatathil's poems “The Origin of the Milky Way” and “Little Houses,” the poet ties a message through the narrative of romantic relationships to allegories of the past. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In “The Origin of the Milky Way,” Nezhukumatathil forces the audience to research the name of the painting and look at the work while reading the poem—a common trait of his work. Jacopo Tintoretto's 1575 painting depicts the image of Zeus attempting to make Hercules immortal by drinking Hera's milk. (National Gallery) The poet does not refer to the focus of the poem, but to Hera's precious objects in the background: “I can't stop staring at the right corner / of the painting, and I think of the man / I miss him, five hundred miles away." (Nezhukumatathil, 12-14) Nezhukumatathil chooses the birds rather than the god and goddess in reference to their fleeting relationship. The poet chooses the bird to personify his lover for his fickle and fickle behavior : "The birds should see what is happening, / but they do not: he is busy, and the female turns away / as if already tried," (Nezhukumatathil, 19-21) Nezhukumatathil recognizes this behavior in herself, but wishes again what she lacked in the relationship: stability: “I secretly want them to be captured, packaged together if only / to make them look in the same direction again, bend their necks / get closer to their plot for their escape, swear a return to their willow -” (Nezhukumatathil, 22-24) Her beautiful image of her relationship with this man seems as if fate, personified in the cherubim in the painting, was doomed from the beginning. The poem instills the thought that fate could not separate them, if only the lover would allow their future together. In “Little Houses,” the poet ventures away from the works of one man, but into the lives of three women. Three powerful women - Frida Kahlo, Marie Antoinette and Harriet Tubman - although coveted for their impact on history, had a history of men shaping their lives. In the first stanza of the poem, Frida Kahlo's relationship with her husband affected her negatively but, inevitably, for the better in her work: "He painted / Happy scenes / Happy colors / But he still slept / With other women"... "She said, “I am / so often alone.” / I am the subject / I know better. (Nezhukumatathil I: 17-21, 31-34) Nezhukumatathil refers to the painting “A Few Small Nips” by Frida, which seems to have as protagonist her, her lover, and the accompaniment of red blood. Her feelings were reflected in her visceral work, which inspires but leaves the audience horrified by its brutal nature (Frida Kahlo) While Frida Kahlo's husband cheated on her , she transformed her pain into beautiful works of art as a reflection of herself rather than her situation. In the second stanza of the poem, Maria.