I remember the open sky;
The lapping of the waves;
The rise and fall of the horizon.
We stood so close.
He led my sight to a point
Where sea and sky intermingled
As had he and I
While all the palace slept.
There, he said, and beyond there lies my home.
His eyes softened.
Your home now, he whispered into my soft tumbling hair
The salt would turn to brittle
Before the journey’s end.
I watched him work.
The sounds were thin and distant;
I saw it as through a window,
Cocooned, wrapped in love.
I breathed the scent of his skin,
Closed my eyes,
Touching mine.
Last night I had tasted enchantment
That my mother could not teach me.
My father would pursue us.
He would kill us both
For lust and jealousy of the golden fleece.
I stood on deck far out to sea;
But I saw Apsyrtus answer my father’s call.
My eager brother.
As I floated serene,
Enveloped in the memory of my lover’s arms,
An idea formed itself
Like clouds tumbling into shapes
Of things with meanings.
I turned slowly,
Slipped off my lover’s trace,
Tiptoed barefoot across the warm timbers.
Jason’s men averted their eyes.
I understood;
Men dare not look upon beauty
Claimed by their captain.
It dazzles them beyond bearing.
