The Journal of his Delights

Artemis

Artemis,
wolves pad softly at your heels
leaving behind warm, dark dens.
Owls, mystery in their talons,
follow in the sky.
Even the heavens look on this night,
their thousand eyes unblinking.

Hunter,
the luminous moon, twin to your soul,
marks spoor and trail,
lighting the way into a forest
beckoning like a lover
ready with a serene and chill embrace.

The hart in darkness rests
wrapped in the soft folds of evening.
His sides quiver, sensing the quiet
spear’s red-tipped approach.

Goddess mantled in silver and shadow,
the slaughter of musk and iron carries on the wind,
the scent of earth made fertile,
and as your children gather, their eyes silent with bliss,
the stag’s head rises,

exultant.