Mortal Summer

Mortal Summer

The cave they slept in, halfway down Olympus On the eastern slope, toward Asia, whence the archangels Even then were comingeven then Bright Michael, and tall Gabriel, and the dark-faced Raphael, healer of mens wounds, were flying, Flying toward the ship all ten would take The cave they slept in sparkled as their eyelids Opened; burned as they rose and stood; hummed And trembled as the seven, the beautiful gods Gazed at each other, wonderful again. The sweet sleep of centuries was over, If only as in dream; if only a mortal Summer woke them out of endless death. The grey eyes of Athene, flashing slowly, Demanded of Hermes more than he could tell. It was not I that roused you. Hermes pondered, Tightening his sandals. All at once,[10] And equally, we woke. Apollo there The musical man-slayer listened and frowned And Ares, and foam-loving Aphrodite Yawned at the very instant Artemis did, With me, and swart Hephaestus. The lame smith, Stroking his leather apron, blinked at the others, Worshipful of brilliance. Even in Ares, Scowling, and more quietly in her The huntress, whose green robe the animals knew, He found it; and of course in Aphrodite, Wife to him once, he found it, a relentless Laughter filling her eyes and her gold limbs. It was not I, said Hermes. Thunder sounded, Weakly and far away. And yet no distance Wrapped it. It was here in the lit cavern: Here, or nowhere. And the trembling seven Turned to the rock that sealed a deeper room. There Zeus, there Hera sat, the feasted prisoners Of a still greater person, one who changed The world while there they mourned, remembering Ida. Some day they too would sleep, but now weak thunder Witnessed their remnant glory; which appalled As ever the proud seven, until Hermes Listened and leaned, then spoke. It was the king Our father. He has willed that we should wander, Even as in a dream, and be the gods Of strangers. Somewhere west of the ocean stream[11] He sends us, to a circle of small hills Come, for I see the place! That suffered thunder Sounded again, agreeing; and they went. Out of the cave they poured, into spring sun Whose warmth they yet increased, for the falling light Was less than theirs was, moving as they moved. No soldier and no shepherd, climbing here, Would have discovered deity. The brambles Hid as they ever had this stony hole Whence seven had been wakened, and where still, Enormous in dark chains, their parents wept. Invisible to suns, the seven gathered Round a white rock and gazed. The sea was there, The Aegean, and a ship without a sail Plied southward, trailing smoke; at which Hephaestus Squinted. Then he slapped his thigh and smiled, And waved for six to follow as down world He leapt. They landed, all of them, as lightly As a fair flock of gulls upon the prow Of the tramp Jonathan B. Travis, bound Tomorrow for Gibraltar, then northwest, Northwest, both night and day, till the ocean stream Was conquered. Not a god had ever gone there, Not one of these high seven, in the old Dark sail time. Now, invisible to waves, To men and birds, they watched twelve grimy sailors[12] Washing their clothes on deck; and wondered still At the two wakes behind them, foam and funnel. But who were these arriving, these gaunt three On giant wings that folded as they fell And staggered, then stood upright? Even now Michael had dropped among them, with his archangel Brethren, bony Gabriel and lank Raphael. From nearer Asia, lonely a long while, They had come flying, sick of the desert silence, Sick of the centuries through which no lord, No king of the host, had blessed them with command. As orphaned eagles, missing their ancients cry, They had come hither, hopeful of these seven, Hopeful of noble company, of new act. Now on the prow they gathered, and no sailor Saw them; but Apollo did, and Artemis Fingering their bowsas Hermes reared On tiptoe, smiling welcome. Aphrodite, Slipping to lee of Ares, feigned a fear More beautiful than truth was; while Hephaestus, Curious, near-sighted, fingered those wing-joints Athene only studied where she stood. Whoever you are, said Hermes, and whatever Pardon thisyou were, sail now as we do, And be the gods of strangers far to west. If only as in dream the vessel draws us, Zeus our sire consenting. Your own sire[13] But the three stared so sadly over the waves That Hermes paused, and beckoning to Gabriel Whispered with him alone while dolphins played As lambs do on dry land, and fishes scattered. Alone to Hermes, while the dolphins heaved Grey backs above green water, Gabriel murmured: Your sire. We had one too. And have Him still, Though silent. It is listening for his thunder That leans us. He is busy with new folk, New, humble folk he speaks to in a low voice. We have not learned that languagehumble words, With never death or danger in the message. A star stood still above a stable once, And a weak infant wept. And there He left us. Our sire, said Hermes, he too sleeps away Our centuries. We have the selfsame fortune. Sail westward with us then. And Gabriel nodded. The steel that sliced the water swung at length, And in three days they nosed between the Pillars; Past whichand the ten all shudderedmonsters once Made chaos of the worlds end. But no fangs Closed over the black prow, and mile on mile Slid under them, familiar as a meadow To the small men they watched amid the smoke. Mile on mile, by hundreds and by thousands, The Atlantic sloped away. Then lands and harbors,[14] And a deep whistle groaning. Now! said Hermes, Now! So nine to one they lifted wing, Or no-wing like their leader, and went on, High over chimneys and chill rivers, north By west till it was therethe rounded valley, Green with new spring, where cattle bawled in barns And people, patient, waited for hot June. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 64783
Author: Van Doren, Mark
Release Date: Mar 10, 2021
Format: eBook
Language: English