I remember her fondly
Her memory clinging to me
The sweetness of a lover never to be possessed
Her heart
Battle-worn and weary
Whispered to me of beautiful winged creatures carrying dreams
She remains to me a wonder
An ancient fallen star draped in porcelain skin
From Mount Olympus,
Stolen from the heart of Zeus himself
She never yielded to this world willingly
To be tamed
Re-moulded
Though they surely tried
Monsters moving in the dark
With cloth-covered faces over hollowed-out eyes
She was forged in the heavens
Born from the fury of a dying sun
A goddess
Never meant for this world.
Alacia Armstrong is a Cape Town-based Namibian poet who started writing on the shores of Henties Bay. She is a research project manager supporting drug discovery teams at the University of Cape Town.