Page 47 of Styx

‘Of course,’ I said. ‘After Kronos

cut off his manhood, his blood sprang free

and where it landed, it gave us the giants,

and the Furies, and ash-tree nymphs.’

Styx gazed down at the violets.

‘And these have been here for

as long as you know?’

I picked through her trail

of thoughts and realized

what she was suggesting.

‘You think that these violets

are born from divine blood?’

She had a faraway look

in her eyes now as she stared

from the violets to the sea.

‘I think ichor has done

stranger things than this.’

Then she turned to me.

‘And I think you were right

to keep this strange garden a secret.’

She did not ask the question

of what my crimson flowers were for.

And yet it told me that no one else

but Styx and I should know

that I made them.

Styx’s Voice Held a Mystery

When I looked into her split eyes I saw

a thousand stories unfold in a moment.

There was warning and peril,

but it was encased with ambition and wonder.