Half hidden in the ancient forest northward
Lies the city of the Hunting Goddess.
Down She lay and with Her hair fallen southward
Became the Lawns of Artemis.
Golden silken fields spread like the open sea
Under an outstretched canvas of blue sky
And the wind it lay upon the grasses free
Whispers like a debutante sigh
Her messenger and warden, the circling hawk
Watches below the elk, the deer, the lion
And the man with his quiver and bow ever taught;
The Goddess of the Hunt looks on.
Under the moon-lit night we connect the stars
To discern the legends and prophecies;
Upon the Lawns of Artemis She answers
Through the whispers of night She breathes.
Morning curtain drawn across horizon line;
Rising, Her wet golden hair meets the wind
That gently lifts the morning mist with a sign
That day is now where night has been.
Jason Behnke
2004
Lawns of Artemis
