and let us pass into the darkness.
Into the Underworld
We were so tired, our clothes were in ruins.
We resembled less a Goddess and her Godling
and more a pair of mortals, bruised and broken feet,
thin from lack of nectar and ambrosia.
I could count my mother’s ribs and the angles
of her face now sharp like a knife.
Pain wasn’t normal to Gods,
we did not naturally feel it often
and we were able to heal quickly,
but how could you heal when you were running
for your life without a moment’s rest?
When we were far enough inside,
we stopped running and my mother fell
to her knees beside the river,
praying, praying,praying.
Until, finally, the waters parted
and the River Goddess
rose up out of the depths before us.
The River Goddess
Styx came to us with fangs at the ready,
wet green hair in tangles down to her waist,
her skin so white it looked like
the underbelly of a dead shark I once saw.
Her eyes were pale as bones,
split irises like a snake’s,
and when she spoke,
her voice was hoarse.
She said so coldly to my mother
