… by the sweet stream of Salmacis… the beautiful dwelling of the nymph… She in her turn under the sacred streams dripping in the cave tempers the savage minds of men. Scouring each ancient tome Countless excavations failed Lost spring of Naiad’s lore And myths of its enticing spell I heard the tale of her wicked deed A man dragged by woman’s snare Denounced by aphrodite’s son, Weakened and transformed Who could seek the curse of a tragic fall and feel no shame? But this yearning persists for the fountain of Salmacis. Ida’s shadow The soft water’s kiss Goddess freed desire Melt into Salmacis In the midst of twin blossoms blown Her gracious eyes reply you’re not alone A moon will rise with each sun that goes And by her tempering light, you don’t walk alone Wandering uncharted woods Cool fog suspends the grass Gentle sighs guide my path To a clearing in the glade A stream of iridescent glass Could this be the journey's end? The crystal waters invite me With suspirations of mist Beckoned by the alluring song Of ripples lapping at my feet A guilt dissolves with each passing wave Hope teases each anticipating breath I’m carried by the cold caress of their fabled dream As my body is swallowed by the tears of Salmacis Ida’s shadow The soft water’s kiss Goddess freed desire Melt into Salmacis In the midst of twin blossoms blown Her gracious eyes reply you’re not alone A moon will rise with each sun that goes And by her tempering light, you don’t walk alone Plunging with the undertow Tearing torrents chaos wrought Twisting madness only shown Through fevered glowing visions of the gods “We have awakened” The thunder calls from a roaring sky “Declare your fate” “Do you seek the daughter of the messenger?” This living myth, imbued divinity changed Calamity shadows her blasphemous path No fear in her eyes, but a love with a weight How does she live with her treacherous birth? “You know nothing A truth erodes with every telling inscribed Reject the spite Of poets’ denials of what I would willingly choose” Lifted by the slender wings of the Erotes I embrace the gifts bestowed by the matriarch spirits under Ida’s shadow The soft water’s kiss From the pool anew Breathe in torrent of life Time Pains soften as the past erodes Her songs adrift in the night By the tempering light, we don’t walk alone In the night