𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞

𝐢'𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝

i walk out into a beautiful starry night
the frigid cold has left
now the sloe blossoms with pale petals
      beckoning the crickets to chirp and lightning bugs to glow

fortnight, the blackthorn berries are ripe for plucking
hence, i hurried outside,
wicker basket in arms,
when i saw you

the most beautiful sight to bear
midnight; stars shining bright.
why, the corona borealis sat atop your fine frame
fit, for the queen who choreographs the galaxy 

and, oh! how lousy i looked!
i still had flowers and leaves scattered in my unkempt hair
and i was wearing the simplest of brown dresses
      without a hem, no less!

"i apologize for disgracing your bountiful halls, selene
please, let me redeem myself
for i could serve you the finest of liqueur sloe gin you've tasted,"
i stumbled over my words, then sought to fulfill the task

rushing inside, i wash and extract the juice from the berry
      and stew it to a thick and fine mead, then i smile to myself
a little cinnamon, sugar cane and mint leaves added, surely will 
      make a quality vin ordinaire

dionysus must have blessed me to-night
      one sip of my creation, and i knew.
the young god, i pour a glass to you
a simple but grateful sacrifice to my patron

then i got dressed; simple, but sleek
mossy green trousers and a cotton shirt with puffy laced sleeves will do
i plaited my hair with shards of quartz-
hopefully i look appealing to beautiful moon goddess

i emerge from my hut, bearing gifts:
a mini apricot pie, picked fresh from my garden,
some of my mushroom and chives stew
and my promised blackthorn wine

"forgive me, my lady," i knelt
"i had to use sugar, for i had not let the wine rest
      as this was an abrupt homage."
the stars grew brighter, cueing me to set my offerings

a ladled bowl of soup was placed adjacent of me
and i pour wine into a rusty gold goblet i
      ran into while digging for treasures
when soft footsteps interrupted the quiet of the night

and, there, selene stood in front of me
stunning with mystique, crowned with nebulae 
clothed in silver, with an iridescent sheen
smiling brightly as the moon itself

"my starlight, you didn't have to do this,"
she spoke softly, gentle like a cool summer breeze in the dark.
she sat elegantly infront of my bowl of soup,
gazing ever so fondly at me

"my lady," bowing my head respectfully, my heart racing
she only smiled, telling me to serve myself.
i scoop stew and supply pie
all the while admiring the goddess before of me

she lifted my stew to her full lips
       and she hums approvingly
my mother once told me staring is rude
but, i assure you, keeping a gaze from the moon is a herculean feat

my soup was bland- lacking of thick cream and buttered corn
the pie left a tart aftertaste, after sitting in my icebox
howbeit, the wine out-showned the meal-
pride myself, as it was that my abilities had not failed me

a sip of mead was enough to enchant the silver-crowned,
her silver eyes glinting playfully in the void of the night.
"my starling, your wine is enthralling, and i wish for more,
however my crown slips as dawn breaks"

i gaze tragically at this celestial being
"oh, selene, the stars aligned only for us to cross paths;
      the fates willed it to be!
i have fallen deeply for you, though what am i to offer?

"have i no riches to offer, nor luxurious sacrifices to your altar
regardless, my loyalty is unmatched.
my lady, have my blackthorn tree not bloom,
never should we have met

"i will be your dionysus, and you the princess ariadne
endymion be theseus- his beauty will be his flaw
his affairs will only bring despair and longing
so let me be your only befitting suitor

"let me escort you from that island he abandoned you in
i shall make you my stunning bride
and i will lay the twinkling corona borealis on your head
and preserve you forever in my heart"

selene's eyes well from my heartfelt confession
taking my hand in hers, pulling them close to her chest
"my shooting star, my moon dust, my beloved doe,
my heart has never ached for someone until you

"as a blessing, my crown will now pass to you,
securing your home as a sacred grove.
my doe, wait 'til persephone reenters the overworld,
for that is when i descend to see you once more"

she leans close to kiss me passionately
a bittersweet farewell as the first rays of dawn touches 
      the paling sky, dissipating the image of the goddess
her last words, "i'll never leave you behind" echoes softly in the air

~

i don't seem to age anymore,
like my inner mortal clock has unscrewed a cog.
the seasons still change, the cycle of life still continues
however there was an abrupt halt of my slow decent to death

keeping selene's crown was no task
as nothing ever posed a threat in my sacred grove
and i have learned to properly settle wine
for the next summer i spend with my beloved

"oh, doe, how you amuse me," 
selene says endearingly, peppering my face with kisses
"never have i met a mortal unmatched by you"
and i always chuckle warmly, and we count all the stars in the night sky

my summers come and go, and centuries seem to pass, even eons
and each time my moon goddess visits
the more tired and old she seems.
"oh, theres nothing of it," she assures me

then the next summer, she didn't come
i pace my land impatiently, worriedly
pondering when she would take me by the hands
and spin us through the dense woods during starlight

she doesn't arrive the next summer.
the bench sitting right under the moon;
      the one we made together
rots from disuse

decades flow through my home.
her crown still sits prettily on my head
however my grove runs unattended
overgrown and wilting from the lack of proper care

yet i still stand
am i waiting? im not even sure
still, i sacrifice my best offerings for a sign from selene,
only then did i realize the corona borealis fell from the night sky

~

i sit in the middle of my clearing
sacred or not, the magic that once flowed through it
      ran dry, yellowing the once lush trees and flower fields
and i sit as young as i was the millennia ago when i met the moon

the crown stayed on my head
shining brightly like the smile of the goddess it once belonged to
a cruel reminder of how much i miss her
and a bitter realization that she abandoned me

~

i was woken from my slumber
shaken vigorously, scattering resting frogs near me.
looking above, the sky was dark
but the stars shining brighter than i witnessed in decades

a faint glow edged on my peripheral vision
sitting up, blinking away the drowsiness,
the roots that grew over me break me from their grip
"selene?" i whispered questioningly, hopefully

"no, mortal, i am artemis"
the silver glow died down revealing a thirteen old girl
robed in silver, and sporting a bow and arrow
"i see you have selene's circlet,"

"no," i reach for the crown and firmly hold it to my head
"this was a gift from my lady- and i have sworn to keep it safe.
who are you, impersonator?
why are you dressed as the moon goddess?"

the young girls' eyes softened upon hearing my accusations.
"mortal, i am here to tell you what you need to know,
and that is you need to pass on.
selene sent me to free you"

"free me?" i ask indignantly 
"why would i want to be freed of my home?
i built this from ground up
and i made true love in this grove!"

artemis sighed sympathetically
"selene is gone, mortal.
she faded away, but only little remains of her here
and that lives in you

"Her last wish was for you to finally rest
and she sent me to do the task."
the words settled into a vile concoction in my stomach
my blood draining, leeching the color from my face

"selene. . . is gone?" 
i wane, distressed from the news
"how could a fine immortal being simply fade?
oh, my beautiful selene! oh, have you sensed us end in tragedy?"

a slumber for eternity sounded like a beckoning;
the grass turning softer under my fingertips
urging me to lie, to bury under debris
to fall under an eternal nihility

but a tug stops me
a small notion, purring softly at my ear.
the presence of my silver-crowned lover
whispering in the wind, calling my name

"my doe, your passing has long come,
join me- our elysium shall be the endless universe.
we will visit your favorite constellations
and all the breathtaking galaxies

"oh, my beloved starlight,
my beautiful doe,
forgive me, i never wanted to fade.
to leave would break my most valued promise to you

"please, my darling, i await you
beyond the clouds of olympus
but to stay or go, remains solely on your shoulders"
like a fog lifting, her spirit fades, lingering close by

artemis helps me up
steadying me as i work my unused joints
"mortal, your decision comes;
linger here, or leave to reunite with your lover?"

i hesitate, gazing back at my grove-
my home for millennia, even if in disarray,
was where i spent my entire life-
but my heart belonged to someone else

with no fancy blessings
or extravagant magic smoke
i unceremoniously plucked my crown from atop my head
and gently placed it in the young goddess' hands

she only smiled and avowed:
"thank you.
you may rest, now
as someone is waiting for you"

~

suspended in a black pool,
small, flickering lights surrounded me
like a shattered mosaic painting
scattered across the vast space

i float in the air
and realize i was clothed in a timeless white chiton
interlaced with platinum embroidery,
and replacing my crown was a laurel wreath

a warm tingle slid down my arm and interlocked with my fingers
turning me towards my goddess
who is standing infront of me
donning a tear-streaked face

"oh, my lady" i breathe, wiping her damp cheek
"i thought you grew tired of me
after all, i am just a mortal
a temporary thing for an immortal being"

selene laughed through her tears
"stardust, you will never be temporary
as you have stolen my heart
and is so rightfully yours, and yours only to keep"

the silver goddess buries herself into my embrace
weeping on how long she wished for me
      to finally be by her side,
long after the springtime and sun

"i-i thought you left me," i mumble
keeping my eyes shut to not spill any tears.
selene unfolds herself from me
and grips my hands in hers

"my doe," her pearly eyes boring thorough mine
"i made a promise-
one i will forever keep.
i will never, never leave you behind."

I tear up and sniffle
"i love you, so, so much, selene,"
i whisper lovingly
to a goddess who is mine. all mine

"i love you too,
my sweet, sweet doe."
and we kiss affectionately in the void
as the stars collapse all around us.

1,730 word poem  

[a/n

i love greek mythology :)

for all the greek nerds who might be a bit mad, yes, i know selene was a titaness, but come on, its for the sake of the fic

and for those who dont know, the corona borealis is a real constellation that appears during spring and summer time. the story behind it was touched on lightly in the poem.

basically, theseus had killed the minotaur with the help of princess ariadne. so they both became bf and gf and escaped the kingdom crete (the holding cell of the minotaur) by ship and sailed to brag about theseus' acheivement. then, something happened, like he got a proposal for marriage from another king, so he dumped ariadne into a stranded island and raced away without her

dionysus, the god of wine and parties, saw the whole thing and pitied the princess. but when he came down from olmypus to help her, he fell in love. they both got married, and when ariadne died, dionysus gave her the crown corona borealis in order for her to ascend to olympus and live immortally with her husband.

and if you are asking why i replaced selene with artemis, it is because selene grew detatched from mythology as new myths about the sun and moon popped up. they became minor gods and almost disappeared  when the romans adopted the greek myths, putting artemis and apollo in the place of helios and selene.

some of the events in this poem is not historically accurate (or as accurate an oral story can be) and i shifted some stuff around just the smallest bit in order for things to fall smoothly while writing the plot.

however, i do hope you liked this new poem type of oneshot :)

lots of love,
-Ra :) <3

2022 words in total]