Views of Diana

on Actaeon & Siproites

After the morning sun claims domain, Diana, stained
by her immortal sin, washes in the stream. A hunter staggers

into the clearing, & the nymphs crowd her body, covering
the goddess with their holy skin. The man averts his eyes.

Stumbling to run, water streams over him & at once,
antlers rise from the brow. His dogs turn, continuing the hunt.

Another millennium, another forever, & another hunter
gazes upon the goddess, bathing wildly in the basin.

When his eyes cross her, he feels no lust. The body is a desire
that washes over him. The goddess, merciful & plenty,

sees. The man becomes more, morphing & changing—
growing goddess himself, & now a woman, & now the hunted kind.