Abaris the Hyperborean to His Golden Arrow by Daniel Galef

Abaris the Hyperborean to His Golden Arrow

Daniel Galef

(spoken by the mythical doctor who flew around the world on a golden arrow given by Apollo)

I thank the god Apollo for the deed
of granting me this gift: My golden dart
who bore me swift on Boreas that my art
might find its purpose helping those in need,
my mount, which God endowed with such a speed
to pull a ware too dear for any cart:
his healing. Just one doubt can pierce my heart—
I ask, God: How much swifter is the steed
of evil, that, no matter where I fly,
to realms beneath the earth, beyond the sun,
where unfamiliar stars rewrite the sky,
I meet my foe Misfortune there and waiting,
victorious, sated, hot and heaven-hating,
to find its gleeful business long since done?


About the Author

Daniel Galef is currently an undergraduate student of philosophy and classical literature at McGill University. He has published short fiction and humor writing in the American Bystander, the NationalLampoon.com, and Defenestration Magazine, among others. He prefers to poet.