Goddess of the Hunt

by Shelby Eileen

Artemis was a beauty, a terror, a force that nature bowed to, but only because she had bowed to nature first.

She is creating victory before there is even battle.

sip wisdom like it is wine and fill my body with truth

I asked her when I would look at a person as wistfully as I looked at a target struck dead center.

my affections; a rare, intimate flood for those I would immortalize in the stars

the problem was always that every arrow in my quiver had the name of your enemies written on them

but I could have disappeared among the stars and you still would never think to learn how to read the constellations

I grew from a barefooted child to a surefooted Goddess

It is hard to embody woman and lady or even Goddess when my true form, I know now, is balance.

but no matter how hard living proved to be I’ve always risen alongside the sun

and if you believe one villain can bring it all down or one hero can put it all back together then you have not been paying attention

She fantasizes about formulating nature, compressing it, liquefying it, serving it in a chalice.

I’m also going to throw some gratitude out into the void for Rick Riordan and Madeline Miller. They don’t know who the fuck I am but I love them, and their works constantly inspired me throughout this project. Read The Song of Achilles k thx bye!