Greece
The End of Childhood
She wakens to a hand
rocking her shoulder,
a muffled word, slips
into folds of clothes
and follows.
She feels the dead space
under the sky, and the layer
of air lying close to the earth,
a blanket of musk
left from summer flowers.
Between her hands
she finds her head, its
heavy, leaden weight
she has to cradle
every hour to stay
conscious of the field,
the [...]
Cosmology
The sky pulls you in.
You stand on tiptoe like a child.
Arranged like birthstone earrings
on a card, they’re tarnished.
Sirius the dog, Medusa writhing
in her headdress of snakes, Orion
chasing the flock of doves
that later changed to sisters.
These strange stories kept you from sleep.
The bedside glass remains a collection of sand.
The same electron
masquerades as others, speeding [...]
Hevelius
Sits with a long, thin tube
on an open roof. A wooden balcony
keeps him from falling off the roof.
Good work Hevelius,
you bear of a man, you lecher.
The long tube
supported by ropes and pulleys
aims at the moon. Mountains! Seas! Comet hair!
Hevelius stops observing and sketches the stars
as seen from the outside, looking in–
the constellated [...]
Hermes
Here you run on winged feet, smiling, Sun Hat.
There in your helmet of darkness, you go invisible
Here in art, now chic name in fashion. Then,
mischievous, precocious infant, holding
a tortoise shell to your soft newborn ear. Stringing
it with sinew, inventing the lyre. Vanquishing
the giant with your beribboned willow wand,
in your flying shoes, you escort dead souls
to [...]
From Mary to Eve
Hera, they worshipped you.
Built marble temples in your name,
bowed before you, mother-
goddess, birther, life giver.
From you, the mystery of creation
brought into light, emergence of plump
fresh humans from your silky tunnel,
rose on your sweet warm milk.
You watched them as they slept.
Standing guard with your staff,
a bird on each shoulder. Your gown
cascaded, shuddering
in twilight’s zephyr.
Until they [...]
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