Alexander to Hephaistion: In Memoriam
Recall you those days in the summer of our youth when we
Walked Athena's sacred olive groves and stood upon
Hymettus heights to watch Helios light the day with
His warming flames?
Olive branches shivered in the gentle winds about
Us catching our eye, calling out in the splendor of their
silvery leaves the glories that awaited beyond Hellas shores.
And we followed them across the world
To sights unseen and men unknown as never before.
Those days now have ended and I lie still
With your dear face in my hands unwilling to let you go.
But Kharon calls with every slip of his oar upon
The dark waters of the Styx and I know you must go
If only I could follow now…
You have touched me unlike any other man or glory
Before or since.
Empires fall and the tales of good men die out in the poets' mouths,
And stain them shaming the Muses
as though their memories are little more than ash to wash their
hands upon.
But, we Beloved, shall not have cause for grief
For souls like ours do not lament the immorality of love.