A Thousand Cherry Blossoms

i. Hephaestus gathers scrap metal for an invention, And the blisters on his neck boil in the hard light. Aphrodite seats against the hood of a car to watch, Smiles with red-tainted lips at the man she loves, And flips off the pretty boy that whistles at her. She chooses their forever. ii. Amphitrite wiggles her toes in the sand To create deep marks with each step she makes. Poseidon loves her today. He loves her intensity Like he loved Medusa’s boldness a day before. His wife ignores the bruise on his neck. He loves her today. iii. Hades takes her home when they are too drunk To remember things like names and status and virtue, But she had looked older under the moonlight, And when Persephone takes his hand under the sheets, He feels guilt bubble up at how much he wants her. She tastes like an addiction. iv. Hera rests her fingers against the glowing screen And takes a moment to imagine a life without him, Without his arrogance and his ego and his touch. Something angry grows inside her, Zeus should know, Because she was never supposed to be this sad. He doesn’t know, so he lies again.

PaRud Snippets