Bearer of Burdens
by Seawalker
A goddess in harness under mortal yoke,
Did you regret the terms of mortal hope?
Give up your faery rade for mortal arms,
Mortal mind that did not take your word
When you protested innocence - do we
Always betray the divine lovers?
(And if we do, why do they keep on
Coming back to us, again and again?)
Seven winters of weeping, seven
Summers under the yoke, you carried
Priests, merchants, housewives -
Did they take pity on you, or delight
In riding the back of a goddess?
Or does divine pride sometimes require
Humbling by mere mortal hands,
Lady who makes her lover chase her down?
What made you stay, when you could have escaped
Into fey hills and kingdoms? Was he so fine
Even in his disbelief? Was your heart caught,
Or only your wyrd? We may never know.
When I am forced to lesser work
Through unfair circumstances, may I
Bear those burdens nigh as gracefully as you.
