Member-only story
Averno
Canto II
Averno, lead us
The rapacious lake
A figment conjured up by ancient lore
Through thee we come alive
Thus
Let us
Pass
The test we’ve been committed to
Nobody’s sons, nobody’s daughters
We wade in dire waters
Will we still sing the hymns of yore?
Asterion, the star-crossed Minotaur
and Arthur, the woe-be-gone
The cacophony of Asterion’s hooves
Was the only sound to listen to
Gone are the days
When we idly sat out on the lawn
Singing Lana del Rey all day long
Fated to fester and get purged in this hell
We deserted that cocoon called soul
Our eyes were soaked in tears
Reality seeped in broken images
To understand is to lose perfection
The deeper in the part, the farther the whole
There’s no time to sulk or dwell on these earthly matters
There He is
Minos, Salvatore, The Aegean King
was sitting on a throne of stone
As Persephone and Lilith made for him
We stopped a few inches away
Asterion was itchy, fur flaking off her skin
My tamarisk dress felt heavier than ever
He then stood up
Beckoning us to come nearer
(At the sight of him
even a Greek statue would blush)
Arthur, let’s go
Finally ye are crossing the threshold
My daughter, my son
In my manly breasts I shall warm ye up
Verdant meadows will hail ye no more
and so will Spring
Ye shall become Silence
