Below Jupiter's Sky

tonight, I’ll choose my own life - I'll choose pride

our two kismets 🏹contend🏹 in this isle of stardust, and

- -here, below Jupiter’s sky- -

I could never imagine, I could never pretend that

- -as you’re wild, fierce, juniper-eyed- -

I shall remain but a sparrow to you - harmless in this calmness

and

you, with your white-tail deer carcass, are my friend - my ally tonight

watching you drink in her marrow, I elect, I decide

you have something I want; that I need (although)

- -painted-face, masquerade, striped in the darkness- -

I know

(as I balance your life between arrow and bow)

there’s a reason our two paths oppose and collide

here, below Jupiter’s sky, in this isle of stardust and Eden, oh

these demons - the question: to eat, or to be eaten?

I can’t quite believe in

this love that runs through me

no, it’s got to be more, it’s

this feud, this frenzy: this deep-rooted envy

will my stomach be fueled or will it stay empty?

oh,

in this world - in its quirk and bizarreness, aplenty

I could make your kin enemy by flinching my wrist; draw blood

- -as you’re wild, fierce, a mother to three tiny cubs- -

I could never expect that

- -here, below Jupiter’s sky up above- -

our two kismets ✨connect✨ in this isle of stardust, and

tonight, I’ll choose us: I'll choose love

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(Now read it from the bottom to the top)

-Gina C. 🧚‍♀️✨

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Author's Note: If you've been following me for a long time, the concept of this poem might seem a bit familiar to you. Back in May of 2023, I wrote a microfiction piece, Among the Sighs of the Trees, that told the brief story of a huntress - seemingly alone in a quiet, lush forest - who prepares to slay a deer and instead ends up meeting face-to-face with a tigress.

The process of writing that story in so few words was so powerful and spiritual for me that I've dreamt since then of breathing life back into the plot. This inverse was a fun way to explore with an alternative ending, while at the same time ultimately circling back to the tender conclusion that I originally envisaged. You can visit the original story here:

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Thank you so much for all your support! 🥹 I'm around a little less these days, but I'm still here and am still trying to read all your wonderful work when I'm able to. 🥹