She shook her head,
but her eyes held
a different answer.
The Ground
was slowly becoming warmer and warmer.
I looked down at my feet as we walked
and saw the smoke begin to rise,
orange streams of fire flowed between
the grooves of polished stone.
I did not know where we were going,
I did not know what was coming up.
I swallowed hard as grey light
turned into orange and yellow,
and my skin became hot.
I could see the dark primordial
mountains looming before us.
A cold shudder ran through
my still-growing body.
I wanted to turn and run.
But my mother had told me
to have courage
and so I kept walking,
clutching hard at
Styx’s hand.
Hades Led Us Quietly
It was easy to forget
that we were following him.
His footsteps were so soft.
I had learned his story
from my mother years ago,
