Page 5 of Styx
ran azure, cerulean, turquoise,
every shade of lazuline blue
you can imagine under the sky
all around the palace.
My father had built
his chambers above ground,
the floors made of thick,
impenetrable diamond glass,
just transparent enough
for us to see the waters below.
Imagine an impossible island palace
full of the banks
of this great river,
not far from the golden
shores of his first ocean.
It was a lonely place at first,
for my grandmother’s
premonition stopped my parents
from having any more children.
I spent a childhood alone,
playing with oysters and dolphins.
My mother would brush my long,
poison-green locks
and tell me stories
about the silver fish
and sea creatures
that surrounded our palace.
I wish I could say I missed company
but you do not miss
what you do not know.
