this century is cruel to deities

ares hits up in bars
incites riots, fist fights
even murders

apollo hides from the sun
dark subway stations
golden hair dyed brown

artemis watches hunters
bullets tearing through flesh
nothing graceful about a modern day hunt

aphrodite in front of a computer
naked to the waist
the cost of beauty is low these days

poseidon in a grimy raincoat
watches fishing boats return laden down with catch
knows the day will soon come that they return empty-handed

athena buried in paperwork
courtroom battles somehow not the same
as the battlefields of ancient greece

dionysus stumbling home at three
he always loved a drink (or ten)
but it’s not wine anymore

zeus at the controls of an airplane
commercial flight #AAL1634
San Fransisco to London direct

hades in a dark suit
hair slicked back
head of the biggest drugs network in europe

demeter watches in anger
as miles and miles of farmland
get turned into cities, or worse left to wither

persephone locked in a mental hospital
diagnosed with multiple personality disorder
but the pills don’t work

hermes lives on the streets
fired from the post office because
“you’re just not what we’re looking for”

hera, the haughty socialite
clings to a time when her word was law
pretends not to hear the cruel whispers

hestia dressed in rags
holds her hands too long over the fire
welcomes the burn

in another time they were worshipped
in another time they were honored
all this time can offer is cruelty
disbelief
hatred but oh so many ways to forget yourself

By Sophia Anderson

Biography:

Sophia Anderson is a high school poet living on the west coast of Canada. She is 16 years old, an avid reader and in love with the sea and the stars. She draws inspiration from personal experience, dreams and her surroundings. She can be found at jailsongs.tumblr.com where she posts the majority of her written works.