Boreas' Ball

Boreas and zephyrs are holding a ball

And dance with snowflakes as they

Carousel ‘mongst the domains of Zeus.

A mortal below stares upon

This celestial dance and,

Wishing to take part,

Proffers a hand

And catches the eye

Of a frozen passerby.

-

He floats oh so daintily.

A beauty, quite cold.

And conduct to match.

He takes her hand. Their dance is not long

He leaves mid-step with the grace of water.

The mortal, abashed, glances about her.

And seeing the dryads surrounded by suitors

Feels the chill of her slight all the more.

-

The mortal, quite jilted, places blame on herself

And heads back toward home to find a better dress.

When she returns with an outfit, more befitting,

She is wounded to find that the ball has ended

And white sigh escapes her

The act reminding her that her plans were too lofty.

How could she catch the eyes of the gods?

-

Artemis rides in and Apollo soon after

As the mortal peers out of her window

To see if the gods might hold another ball.

But she is shocked to see

That the gods have gone

And not a speck of white has remained.

The dark of the day making even the slight

Feel slightly less so.

-

Apollo comes again and the mortal girl

Sees another ball has been prepared.

The dancing has begun again and more

Children of Khione are arriving in time.

The girl bounds outside,

Her hopes outstripping Icarus,

And smiles, ecstatically.

-

She freezes, mid-motion.

Like the creek that’s beside her

And watches nervously as a suitor approaches.

His beauty, in simplicity and complexity,

Outstrips he who had left her.

And she fears to catch his eye

Lest her fall be that much greater.

-

But he catches her eye and

Dances a mite closer;

He has found a beauty the other did not see

Her smile that shines brighter than Apollo’s chariot.

-

She, again, extends a hand,

Aware of the similarities,

But, like two snowflakes,

The encounters are not the same.

Her snow suitor has chosen her and

Her fears melt in his hand.

And he does not melt in her's.