Averno
Canto I
Averno, wait for us
The Bird-less lake
A place where bodies are orphans
Of pneuma
Thus
Let us
Trespass
This world, onto a new one
The entrance to the netherworld shall welcome us
Ariadne shall weave her thread
For us never to get lost
Arthur, the poet in a tamarisk dress and Asterion, the Minotaur
They woke up early in the morning
Vape smoke filled the room
He was placidly sleeping
While she was sitting on the floor, busy sharpening her horns
And cleaning her hoofs
The rosary beads clinking against the headboard
Revived him from his slumber
His eyes bloomed, tears on his cheeks
For the light seeping through the shutters hurt him
“It’s time to go”
Their journey was about to begin
The Minotaur was gloomy and morose
She knew she had to face her father again
Wise on Earth, Minos proved himself adept at judging the damned
Therefore, the Bringer of Light, Satan, Hades, Lucifer, Shiva, God
Whichever name one gives it
Bestowed upon him the title of Supreme Judge in hell –
She left her native ground – Crete, Taranto
A long time ago, with the promise of never coming back
“I’m a mere byproduct of the hubris
And deception my mother had to suffer
But now I’m free, the old meandering labyrinth
Rouses no longer fear in my heart
Ariadne will wean me off my precedents
And my Art shall prosper.
The day turned to be kaleidoscopic, yet chilly
All clouds were dissipating as the solar power nourished all breathing beings
They set off and gaily strolled down the path
That would lead them ten miles west of Naples
As the two poets ate dripping peaches and drank cherry wine
Pasiphae’s child goes wild anytime fall arrives
(Her ringlets play with the orphaning air
That breath bereft of vital force)
For she’s aware that she’s destined to achromatize
Like the dark that swallows the outlines of every form and its environs
On their way to Cuma, they met a plenitude of wondrous souls
The muse of music, Euterpe
Born of the moss that beautifies sea rocks
The barger who aided them crossing the river of oblivion, Lethe
attuning their ears to her guitar as it gently wept an ethereal strain
Once they sailed across the river
They bumped into Bastet, the Cat Goddess
That fed their hungry bellies with epic verses
And gave them strength,
For she’s a woman who found her own in her countless deaths
An Amazon whose duty was to prepare them to bare their souls from their mortal vestiges
Three spiteful, yet funny, spirits livened up their journey
A boy who was constantly yearning for the outer space
A girl whose wings resembled those of a fairy
A human being that goes beyond bodily tags
As they walked, they waxed poetic about the landscape unfolding around them
The Vampire-like Creature, Lilith, the first woman
And her stepdaughter, Persephone
Met their guests at the entrance
“Let us show you the way to limbo, Minos is waiting for ye”
Carved around the mouth of the crater lake
“Abandon Hope, All Ye who enter
For there’s no Heaven”.
Arthur gasped. Asterion sighed
The reveal of truth had finally arrived
They slipped down past stone-pointy walls
The light that hurt him so much in the morning was forever gone
“Light was not that bad after all
Goodbye Mother Nature, thank you for nurturing us
Your gifts were so much appreciated
Now we’re heading back to where it all began”
