A Snippet of Atlas' Endless Musings by Rumi Petersen

I wonder—as I graze my aching hands against the sky—

if my cousin’s fearsome anger still condemns me from on high.

And my other cousin, Helios, the sun that rides behind

austere Apollon’s chariot—do I ever cross his mind?

Or am I all forgotten here, by titans and the gods;

am I to always heft alone Ouranos, blue and broad?

My one and cold companion, out here, beyond the land,

out here beyond the joys of life and every gentle hand:

Ouranos—Sky who soars above with hemlock on his tongue,

still bitterly condemning wrongs yet old when time was young—

is now the only voice I hear as muscles burn and tremble,

never to lay down their load and ever to be humbled

by mighty Zeus’s will—to think the name is to be split

by thoughts of cruelest banishment from his sadistic wit.

I try to muster up some rage at Kronos’ proudest son

but anger, these days, fades as sure as light ’neath Nyx’s dun;

It’s all that I can do to keep despair from taking all—

It’s all my effort just to feel mightier than small.

It’s all my life just kneeling here, the sky my meager crown,

eternity around my shoulders, cloaked in heavy clouds.

Bio

Rumi Petersen (he/she) is something of a jack-of-all-trades; poet, playwright, director, archer, improviser... above all, he has a craving for storytelling. She sometimes wonders if her calling is sitting around a fire and passing down ancient stories.

Author's note

The idea behind "A Snippet of Atlas' Endless Musings" is that it's just that: a snippet. Before and beyond it, the thoughts continue into infinity, and Atlas continues to hold the sky. I really liked the idea of a poem that is part of an endless, scrolling stream of consciousness (I imagined it like a roll of receipt paper). Structurally, I wanted to call back to Hesiod's Theogony and his custom of listing the names of the gods at the beginning of his poems (though I hope I didn't call back to his opinions of women...)

More than anything, I wanted to create something that was endless, could be built on as easily as it could be left, and could be added to by anyone who was so inspired (with maybe a short search for names of Greek mythological figures).