Bellerophon
by John Manesis

I strove to reach the gods’ domain, instead
was thrown from my fearless horse, an alar steed,
and fell to earth, a fitting end, they said,
for mortals driven by ambition and greed.
Since then I’ve wandered, homeless and despised,
scanning northern skies each starry night,
searching for the mount immortalized,
a constellation after his final flight.

I do not mourn my fate. When others see
that harbor of lights, let them think of me.
For those who deem my life has been for naught,
do they not ever dream, what have they sought?
How many held a golden rein so wondrous
and charged into battle on a Pegasus?

Return to Poetry Page