By the name of Echo
Loved talking
A gift of entertaining speech
The wife of the great God Zeus
Hera, Queen of Olympus
Took away that gift
For Hera trusted her
And
Then learned
That her trust was folly
Echo told Hera stories
At length entertained the queen
In truth, had distracted Hera
Because all that while
King Zeus
Who longed to be free
And to be wild
Used that moment
When Hera was otherwise focused
To consort with Echo's sister nymphs
The intimate interludes
In a fashion were due Echo's deceit
Her voice, which she loved
More than anything
Would no longer be hers
She would no longer be heard
As a being in her voice
Now only able
To echo what was said
By whoever spoke before her
Cursed, still she endured
And lived
Seeing a youth
And following him
She understood that
She very much desired him
He was beautiful
Vain, well proportioned
Reckless and wild
Untamed
Oh he was exciting
She followed at first
From a distance
Who's there? he shouted
She tried to call to him
Who's there, she replied
Her voice simply echoed
The last thing she had heard
After a chase he said
Let us meet
She was thrilled
So she tried to get closer
And he noticed her then
But he became distracted
By the view
Of his face
So perfect
The tranquil water
Like a voice to him
Calling him beautiful
So very beautiful
And voiceless
She began to cry
And as he stared
Transfixed
He could not move
Until he died
And her tears fell
Until she faded away
And in their place
The echo of the water
Always ringing
Upon the shores
A Narcissus flower
Remain
