Greek Mythology
I wrote an epic poem/song retelling the myth of Artemis and Orion, perhaps y'all will dig.
Something in the woods made my eyes swell closed
Probably just the pollen from the spring weed growths
And I couldn't see a thing
It didn't really sting, but I got scared
I wandered toward the burble of a nearby stream
Splashed it on my eyelids and rubbed them clean
And the smell began to change
From pine needles to sage and ginger root
And I looked up to see
Unfamiliar trees circling the moon
There was a lake nearby
I saw women washing up and speaking Greek
I ducked to hide
When I saw the bows and arrows they were carrying
The fairest one
Reminded me of statues that I'd seen
And I was stunned
I knew it when she said her name was Artemis
A man approached the women with a hunter's grace
He smiled toward fair Artemis and they embraced
She leaned into his chest
Held his arm against her breast as they kissed
They whispered to each other in the thin moon's light
I strained to hear their voices but I could not quite
Glancing towards the East
Looking sort of guilty where they stood
Their friendship seemed pure
Makes me less of a voyeur, so that's good
Another man came forward from the Eastern bank
His eyes were like the sun burning bright and blank
He had a jealous twist
Around his mouth as if he'd been betrayed
The dawn began to break as he called to them
Hello sister Artemis, and Orion your friend
Orion took his leave
As he saw Apollo seething at his sight
The rest went off to hunt
I can't believe my luck, I wasn't spied
From the lake nearby
Where I saw women washing up and speaking Greek
I ducked to hide
When I saw the bows and arrows they were carrying
The fairest one
Reminded me of statues that I'd seen
And I was stunned
I knew it when she said her name was Artemis
Half an hour later I decided it was safe
Scraped away the bugs and mud and left my hiding place
Dizzy from the strangeness of the scene they'd played
I walked away
As I wandered off I found the sea's bright edge
Where Apollo taunted Artemis: he coldly said
You can't hit the ball
Floating on the water, it's too far
She raised her bow and aimed it towards the distant sea
I had the sinking feeling that she'd been deceived
The deadly arrow flew
As it struck clean and true, we heard a cry
The wavelets carried here
Orion's body pierced right through the eye
And she saw his blood
Weeping o'er the man she killed from trickery
Her only love
Pretty features twisted up with grief
She took his corpse
Tied it to an arrow with a string
And shot her bow
Draped him in the sky across the stars
I guess she must have heard me as I sobbed out loud
Commanding that I come out from my leafy shroud
She told me that she knew
She could see me too from on the lake
An oracle had told her that I'd come today
To carry on the story of her love's poor fate
She said I'd better go
And tell it well before she changed her mind
That's why I'm not a deer
Like all the other fearful men who spied
She'd transformed them all
To prey for hunters following with dogs
So please clap loud
To let her know I'm doing my job
Something in the woods made my eyes swell closed
Probably just the pollen from the spring weed growths
And I couldn't see a thing
It didn't really sting, but I got scared
I wandered toward the burble of a nearby stream
Splashed it on my eyelids and rubbed them clean
And the smell began to change
From pine needles to sage and ginger root
And I looked up to see
Unfamiliar trees circling the moon
There was a lake nearby
I saw women washing up and speaking Greek
I ducked to hide
When I saw the bows and arrows they were carrying
The fairest one
Reminded me of statues that I'd seen
And I was stunned
I knew it when she said her name was Artemis
A man approached the women with a hunter's grace
He smiled toward fair Artemis and they embraced
She leaned into his chest
Held his arm against her breast as they kissed
They whispered to each other in the thin moon's light
I strained to hear their voices but I could not quite
Glancing towards the East
Looking sort of guilty where they stood
Their friendship seemed pure
Makes me less of a voyeur, so that's good
Another man came forward from the Eastern bank
His eyes were like the sun burning bright and blank
He had a jealous twist
Around his mouth as if he'd been betrayed
The dawn began to break as he called to them
Hello sister Artemis, and Orion your friend
Orion took his leave
As he saw Apollo seething at his sight
The rest went off to hunt
I can't believe my luck, I wasn't spied
From the lake nearby
Where I saw women washing up and speaking Greek
I ducked to hide
When I saw the bows and arrows they were carrying
The fairest one
Reminded me of statues that I'd seen
And I was stunned
I knew it when she said her name was Artemis
Half an hour later I decided it was safe
Scraped away the bugs and mud and left my hiding place
Dizzy from the strangeness of the scene they'd played
I walked away
As I wandered off I found the sea's bright edge
Where Apollo taunted Artemis: he coldly said
You can't hit the ball
Floating on the water, it's too far
She raised her bow and aimed it towards the distant sea
I had the sinking feeling that she'd been deceived
The deadly arrow flew
As it struck clean and true, we heard a cry
The wavelets carried here
Orion's body pierced right through the eye
And she saw his blood
Weeping o'er the man she killed from trickery
Her only love
Pretty features twisted up with grief
She took his corpse
Tied it to an arrow with a string
And shot her bow
Draped him in the sky across the stars
I guess she must have heard me as I sobbed out loud
Commanding that I come out from my leafy shroud
She told me that she knew
She could see me too from on the lake
An oracle had told her that I'd come today
To carry on the story of her love's poor fate
She said I'd better go
And tell it well before she changed her mind
That's why I'm not a deer
Like all the other fearful men who spied
She'd transformed them all
To prey for hunters following with dogs
So please clap loud
To let her know I'm doing my job