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The Daughters of Atlas

“…Atlas... bade Hercules hold up the sky in his stead.

Hercules promised to do so, but succeeded by craft in putting it on Atlas instead

....he begged Atlas to hold up the sky till he should put a pad on his head.”  

- Apollodorus, Library II.5.11, c. 1st-2nd century CE

Old tales tell of mighty men who fought to lose

What women daily bear with ease and grace

For men cannot balance the world on their heads

Who portray each daily chore as legend

But it is now strong and stately women 

Who hold up the sky’s unlikely colors

Pastel shades of blush and dawn nourishing

Towering gardens of russet and sage

As women have done since before the beginning

No matter what elder tales may tell

Balancing life as if practicing posture

Draping the world across their left shoulders

A pauldron of time there heaped and expanding

The world-serpent’s skin coiled around her brow

Her veins gush with the wine of summer

Heaven and earth a mere fashion statement

Heavily felt yet lightly burdened

Royal purple worn most casually

With her grace and a firm simplicity

For that which she bears is not all that she is

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