Nightsong
“Ivy had cloaked the steps, dark leaves glowing dimly in the starlight. The inner chamber, where the goddess could be made welcome should she ever visit this kingdom, was bare and open to the sky, the temple floors dense with weeds.
“My father says,” explained the princess, “that we should not be prayerful, like the men and women in other lands.” She added, “The small temple of Juno where I pray is kept quite pretty.”
“But the queen of wisdom must be sorrowful,” said Orpheus, “when she sees this... crumbling marble step.”
By night the vista from the ruined temple was only an abyss of empty darkness, the hills and far-off ocean sullen and invisible under the stars. Something about the sight gave the poet a shiver. Orpheus loved daylight, with its lively animals and laughter – he knew that darkness was no human being’s friend.
The poet reached down to tug at a weed. “I am afraid for your father’s kingdom, dear Eurydice.”
Some said that only the sweetest herbs grew in a temple, even one lost to ruin like this.MoreLess
“My father says,” explained the princess, “that we should not be prayerful, like the men and women in other lands.” She added, “The small temple of Juno where I pray is kept quite pretty.”
“But the queen of wisdom must be sorrowful,” said Orpheus, “when she sees this... crumbling marble step.”
By night the vista from the ruined temple was only an abyss of empty darkness, the hills and far-off ocean sullen and invisible under the stars. Something about the sight gave the poet a shiver. Orpheus loved daylight, with its lively animals and laughter – he knew that darkness was no human being’s friend.
The poet reached down to tug at a weed. “I am afraid for your father’s kingdom, dear Eurydice.”
Some said that only the sweetest herbs grew in a temple, even one lost to ruin like this.MoreLess
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