Day 8

Atalanta

You know I'm fast,
that you can only beat me by cheating.
I'm as straight & fleet as an Amazon arrow,
& I always find my mark. I can sneak
through the trees unseen, without
trembling a leaf, without my quarry
even suspecting I exist.
Should I give myself up to a virgin goddess
or a man who's proven himself to be faithless?
There's enough of the bear still with me
to long for my own, free way, in dirt,
brush & tree, to be summoned to the hunt
because I am truly me.

© Ceri Lloyd 9 April 2020