Advice from a... | Shea Castleman

/’ sizijē/

noun ASTRONOMY a conjunction or opposition, especially of the moon with the sun. Hailey Sipes

Apollo coaxed the Sun into his chariot, Like a master bribing his dog with a meaty bone. Winged horses rode off, allowing the Moon to make her entrance And to save dear Icarus from the fall As the heat of moonlight fails to amount, And the arrival of night leaves nothing but a chill in the air Finally, Icarus’ cyclic death found an end, The Sun removed from his perch, The wax never waning, Melting, boiling the flesh of his arms and along his spine, Leaving him plummeting for Poseidon’s vast waters. Yet the Moon stared at the boy For she didn’t understand what gave men the right to fly like gods Like the eagles that sat upon the throne of Mount Olympus. However, she was alone The sky empty and starless, the shade of a fresh bruise. Her powers were few and thin, for she was not a goddess She could not walk on two legs like her mistress, Artemis, Justice was not the Moon’s to deliver. The strings of the Fates remained uncut for dear Icarus The oceans free from his plummeting assault, But Hades would not like it, Cerberus, too For they lost a soul to devour And Charon, the coin of another shade. So, the Moon wept quietly, Not knowing what to do She watched and watched and watched As Icarus soared higher, His father not breathing a word of warning And for once, the tragedy clinging to the boy’s back Was the only thing to fall.