Nymphs
Olivia Lee
Duarte, CA
California School of the Arts
Poetry
Dawn
not unlike the rose-tipped
deity of Grecian fame,
with its golden shafts a-flickering
like sparks lost in a flame,
and from glassy tombs they rise anew,
the fervent worshippers embrace
the light, among which fly a few,
and more crawl forth in sleepy mounds
as dawn turns into
Noon and the worshippers rise in sprawling swarms,
tumbling in their drunken orgies,
great buzzing droves in off-white storms
legs flailing, wings beating in
frenzied momentum, the seed of
life mingling amidst the whirring din
of a thousand wings, the flurry swift
no time to feed, no time to fight,
for they know noon fades to sacred
Night with it the revelry begins to falter,
thick pallets line the murky lake,
as bodies pile below the altar,
and stragglers hover, trailing, weak
prey to the gasping mouths of
carp, tucked inside the furry cheek
of an idle bat who skims the waters,
yet none do fret, for ‘neath the mud
lie multitudes of sons and daughters,
to spark the cycle once again
come next mayfly summer.
EDITORIAL PRAISE
Myths linger past their time, inspiring new generations with the stories of the old. In Nymphs, Olivia Lee draws from that well of inspiration, and in describing to us the world that they have imagine, gives us access to a new source of powerful imagery from which future poets may draw.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Olivia Lee is a sophomore at California School of the Arts in Duarte, graduating in 2021. Her writing has been recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She has work appearing, or forthcoming, in LiveWire, Aerie International, DASH, Canvas Literary Journal, among others.