If You Asked the Earth

When Eurydice was a child she named birds. Silly names that made her laugh. She had a laugh like a song.

These are things we do not know.

When Orpheus was young he was scared of the dark. He thought that shadows held the memories of ghosts. Once he even woke up screaming, having felt a shadow kiss his hand.

These are things we cannot know.

When the satyr was first born he was not given a name. His mother had no tongue, his father was not living. The satyr cried from his crib and his mother could not sing him a lullaby.

These are things we do not know.

When the viper first left its nest it thought that trees were snakes grown too large. It marveled at the color of the sky. The viper had scales the color of leaves reflected in water.

These are things we cannot know.

When the stones first heard Orpheus’ song they did not wish to weep Stones are very set in their stoic ways. But they did weep because even stones are not always cold.

These are things we do know.

When Eurydice heard her lover’s voice after death she thought she was still alive. A bird had been named Echo because she thought it was echoing songs back to her from somewhere else.

She thinks she really died when Orpheus turned back.

These are things we cannot unknow.

Evan Morgan Williams