Curse Of Atlas
Aadithya S | Hearts_to_Ink
Foreword: This is a modern interpretation of an old Greek mythology set in a contemporary world. This story in verse is my first attempt at recreating old epics with a modern twist. Owing to this being my first attempt at bringing out an entire universe within the constraint of 1300 odd words, the poem would at times feel rushed and sometimes, stagnating at a juncture. I beseech the readers to accept this work with an open embrace and support a budding writer.
I gaze yonder, over the crimson red sky
Nyx stalks from afar as Helios gallops away
I gaze yonder as the sun sinks into the valley
Tease a fleeting image and a sly embrace
Artemis marches alongside her mighty horde
All sixty thousand archers resplendent bold
Over the valley, under the bridleway
On the tallest mountain that on earth lay
I gaze over the land scintillated by the stars
Stretching as far as the eye could perceive
Yet rooted to my place I stand impaled
Hold onto the hemlines of the sky as it sway
Curse of Atlas draconian, a vile atrocity
Spiteful as the unending pits of Tartarus
Millennia I endure in muffled suffering
A petty act, contrast to he who nailed the iron
Of deceit and charlatance, jealousy and greed
Till the brim filled as to rip the soul of his kin
Stranded from my blood for all eternity
The curse of Atlas I endure in silent agony
Millennia has passed since the war ended
A guard over the purgatory of land and sky
Stand the test of time, witness man’s ascent
A life of pleasure within reach yet so distant
T’was a time when repentance came flooding
Perhaps my trial by fire, of penance resolute
Rage took over for amnesty overlooked
Await with bated breath to turn over the tide
Never in the least to guess what ahead lay
Thread the Fates chose to spin around me
A moment of haste was all there could be
To stab my father and snatch his place
Oh Kronos! You vile fiend, who poisoned
My soul to slay mine own blood for power
Was I perhaps human, to err and later repent?
No I shan't sway from the path of vengeance
But my dear Elektra, how I wish you were here
A father may never love any daughter more
A blot it may be for I favored you the most
How I grieved as you were taken by that imp!
That thug who calls himself King of the Gods
Who laid his hand on my child and left her
For many moons you grieved over the battles
How I wish I were there to wipe your tears!
Zeus!! For long have I bore your fornication
No longer will tyranny thrive in Gaia’s bosom
Lord Ouranos’ will coursing through my body
My bare hands to rip all the gods shall suffice
No more this burden on my shoulders lay
Let worlds collide as I lay ichor to waste
Hero or God, hellhounds or sea nymphs
Any soul that dares Atlas’ might shall sink
Skies turns ochre as the Gods slowly fall
Lands that bleed of every hero’s corpse
Let mine fury strike fear in your hearts
A flamboyant Titan fighting his old cause
Apollo, Artemis, Ares and Athena
Sincerely futile attempts to control my pace
They lie at my feet, all blood of my blood
Decimate your beloved and let seas flood
We meet at last, Oh nephew and nemesis!
Thunder claps and lightning bolts in service
Know the might of the all-powerful Titan
His mere presence shall annihilate his victims
A trickle of gold teasing along the sides of his face
His feature weathered by bruises yet alert
Yet he manages a look full of complacence
“I must thank uncle for this exercise after all these years
For thousands of years have the Gods awaited
With bated breath for a challenge like this
I pray you pose a challenge that suffices our thirst
Until the next lamb for slaughter arrives on our porch”
“My dear nephew seems to be presumptuous of his victory
Let not mine previous defeat give you the rush that it does
I arrive after slaughtering your younglings in war
Unlike your conceited scheme killing my young in cold blood”
He stirs for a moment over the sudden proclamation
Perhaps in shock but he recoils almost immediately
It is no surprise for he tried to kill his own himself
A cold-hearted entity lowly than the lowest evil
His grip tightens and the impending war looms in sight
I let my focus around to scout for hidden surprises
I now realize that the sky has not fallen since I let go
I turn towards the hill and gasp in utmost horror
There she was bright and tender as the day
I saw her last before leaving for the war
Her hair swept by the winds along the north
Her petite frame burdened by the sky’s weight
Our eyes meet, father and daughter after eternity
Her appearance portraying a tale of pain
But more so of melancholy, of separation and heartbreak
Years of sorrow tearing down my beloved Elektra’s face
I let out a cry loud enough for her to hear
Of angst that would the seven seas obliterate
Endure the wrath of the curse of Atlas
To lose hope after climbing the ascent
Agony turns to pure rage as I turn myself
To face the demon and award his peril
But my greatest desire was my weakness after all
Struck his blow when I let down my sight
Blood spurts forth but so does my rage
For pain is my ray of light, my will to fight
I charge forward with an undeterred stride
Hands banging past his flashing strikes
Severely unmatched he turns to his brothers
Poseidon and Hades arriving to pompous fare
Perhaps a hasty move in his part to take
In a blink they lay dead as I returned their fire
“Is that all in your mighty arsenal, O Zeus?
Shame enshroud the Titans who fell to your blows
Let me end your miser-“ was all I could say
As pain struck me blind from the attack behind
I turn to see the perpetrator of this fiendish scheme
Jolted by the situation that lay at hand
For bewitched is the curse of mine name
To watch his own daughter reduced to maim
There she stood, her eyes smeared by tears
Hands quivering yet holding still onto the blade
A sight of absolute melancholy is all she was
A daughter in distress, a mother in chaos
What led her to this gruesome act I ponder
Perhaps a bait, or rather an illusion to misguide?
Maybe led to conspire in return for her dead son?
“You too my dearest?” was my silence breaking utterance
I stumble from the sky
I tumble towards the ocean
Left in agony over the fate played upon
Hitting the ground with a thud to rumble Rome till Avon
Pain searing through my body, gold coursing outwards
Blinded by the swagger, humbled by betrayal
My heart seeking an answer for this outcome
Was I to blame perhaps for what my daughter had become?
Memories come flooding of times so blissful
There she was! Her peals of laughter reverberating
Chasing after her sisters in the Hesperides
Unmindful of the sorrow that was to follow
Curse the Fates for my eternal damnation
Curse everyone for corrupting the mighty Titan that I was
I shed a tear in repentance for my action
Losing the trickle of humanity left, in this annihilation
I gaze upward and long for a final moment with my dearest
Maybe a few apologies, a final bid farewell
Before I transcend into the unknown
Disintegrate to infinity never to return
She descends slowly, a picture of grace and disarray
Weeping inconsolably for the deed she performed
She falls into my arms in regret and repentance
Only to see me in acceptance of my fate
I am at bliss embracing my long lost daughter
“It is alright my dear, it was never your fault
I shoulder the blame for your action
And from the depth of my soul accept the consequence”
I wipe away her tears with the last of my strength
“Forgive me mother Gaia for this massacre
Protect my innocent daughter from my sin
Let me sleep, set me free from the curse of Atlas”
A final gasp of breath before the transit
Into the pits of chaos and emptiness
With the image of my daughter on my breast
I close my eyes and give away to the darkness.
