thereās a symphony on his lips, a hum age-old but familiar enough to sound like a fond remembrance to any ear it falls upon. thereās a spring in his step today, something jovial about the way he picks his way across the cobbled street. his mind says: you are a fool, you are a goaded fool; and yet his heart hushes it into quiet acquiescence and says: go forth into the blooming, she awaits you so ā
and for all his follies, apollo is not a foolish god. he knows very well the service of his intentions, knows where they stem from ā knows where they cannotĀ must not go. ( itās not necessarily that he has a penchant for best behavior, not even something akin to brethren in the god of the underworld ā but itās something more resolute, something filled with vitriol & acid. this is his punishment, as the lover scorned. he must bear it so, honorably as he can. )
thereās an indulgence in the way he lets himself fall prey to itāhe could not resist it if he tried, not with the whims of eros and eris upon his back; but they are not the only culprits when he is the instigatorālets himself douse in the safety of sun-warmed love. ( and it is love, eros has said it himself so. ) his smiles tells of secrets his heart keeps; persephone must not know. if this is to end without spilling ichor, it is best if he keeps his own confession mum-lipped. persephoneās heart is her own first, hadesā second ( or perhaps of a varying order, apollo cannot pretend to know ) ā and that is how it must stay.
so he hopes, so he wishes.
the flower shop blooms ahead of him. it is a tucked away thing, decorated with flora that sings of summer. there are bouquets lining the path to the door, and it is with quick fingers that apollo steals a rose from it ā lifts it to breathe it in just as the door tinkles with the chime of his arrival.
and there she is ā a vision. ( he cannot keep the curl of his smile from blooming just so. )
he speaks with dramatics, adds the coloring to his tone to make it less obvious how much he has come to mean his following words. āshall i compare thee to a summerās day?ā he intones, a lyrical ascent as apollo makes his way to the counter aside which she stands. elbows coming to rest upon the counter, he holds out the rose for her ā all the while fighting to keep the mauve of his lips upturned to but a modicum of appropriateness. āāi can see why mortals are so enchanted with his words.ā ( it is, undoubtedly, shakespeare apollo is referring to; a muse heād known in another incarnate life. ) āhe blossomed through his work, but he was a quiet muse, did you know? wore his affairs to heart. perhaps he teaches there is much to learn in the silence...his words certainly outlive him to the extent of a god.ā ( @jxniel )