Poetry Archive
The Moon and the Scorpion
The text is presented as written. Line breaks are preserved from the archived source.
Quiet in the night is the rising tide,
Flickering stars, behind wispy clouds, hide.
The snowy owl glides by, swift and quiet,
In the gloaming, shrieking bats cause riot.
A lonely traveler heads for distant lands,
Trudging through the plains, seeking foreign sands.
He whistles a song under the skies, silver bright,
Of the Moon and the Scorpion dancing in the night.
"Great was the Lion that strode the dark sky,
Stalking the Moon till the dawn was nigh.
With the Bear by his side and the world at his feet,
The Lion, strode the skies, fearing only the sun's heat.
With a mighty roar as he tore through heaven,
The Moon trembled and turned as dark as a raven.
The Crab scuttled beyond the edge of the world,
The Fish plunged into the Deep; dark and cold.
The skies blacked-out under the Moon, cowering,
The silver sheen vanished from the river, flowing;
Black turned the desert sands, until recently shining,
In her tracks paused the Scorpion out a-wandering.
The Moon, her dear love, had vanished from sight,
As the Lion, in the skies, roared with all his might.
She set off on a run and with a mighty leap,
The Scorpion took to the air where the earth and sky meet.
With the Moon in her arms and her stinger held high,
She faced off with the Lion, daring him to draw nigh.
A warrior’s battle dance, she danced, watchers say,
Taking to the skies, the Scorpion held the Lion at bay.
Nettled and stung, the Lion howled in pain
The clouds thundered at the battle and opened up in rain.
Trembling skies echoed the howl beyond World's end,
From the North, the Great Bear raced to aid his friend.
The mountain of fur and claws, the Scorpion fought,
Forced to retreat, from Ursa’s tremendous onslaught.
Unable to help yet unwilling to leave, she fought without rest,
Till the sun rose – a naked flame – out of her eastern nest.
The Lion and the Bear, in terror of the sun’s heat, fled,
As, exhausted, westward sank a grateful Moon into his bed.
The Scorpion sent word to her friends and allies at first light,
Asking for aid against Leo and Ursa’s combined might.
She returned to her desert sands, lost deep in thought,
Till, Hermes she saw, racing on an errand, like an arrow shot.
Her call he heard, and leapt to the earth from the heavenly vault,
Her story, he heard in silence, of the Lion and the Bear’s assault.
He dreaded the thought of a Moonless world, dark and gray
Her message, he swore to take to Olympus, without delay.
In the halls of the Gods, the tale was told,
Of the terrified Moon and his protector bold.
His eyes flashing lightning and his brow a stormy cloud,
Zeus rose in fury, his voice, like thunder, rumbling loud.
Terrible vengeance he swore on the Lion and Bear,
For their unwarranted attack on a world in his care.
The day ended as the sky sparkled silver and bright,
Starry multitudes shone in greeting to the rising Moon in the night.
He crept from the east, his face shadowed and gaunt,
Terrified, he trembled, awaiting the Lion’s impending hound.
Scorpio, his brave protector, leapt from the desert sands,
Of her meeting with Hermes she told him, as they sailed o’er the lands.
Leo’s roar thundered across the skies, sending the Moon cowering,
The Scorpion fell to guard, as the Lion stalked them, glowering.
With an earth-shaking bellow the Bear charged to his friend’s side,
Her hapless love, the Scorpion swore to protect till she died.
The skies burst into fire as thunder and lightning crackled in the night,
A torrent of rain poured forth – as Zeus’ wrath burst forth in its might.
Unharmed, the Lion and the Bear laughed at Zeus in terrible spite,
To destroy the scorpion, for ages, they fought on with no respite.
Born of the line of Titans, their power rivaled the Gods of the day,
While fighting the Scorpion, the might of Olympus they held at bay.
All seemed lost as the Scorpion weakened in the fight
When, from Mount Pelion’s heights sounded a voice of might.
Chiron rose to defend the Moon, his horn calling allies to battle,
And mighty beings, born of myth, answered and flocked to his castle.
Orion, he commanded, to hunt the Bear till first light,
Monoceros, he unleashed, to take on the Lion’s might.
The Hunter took to the skies, his bow at hand and sword aflame,
The Unicorn whinnied his challenge, calling the Lion many a name.
Wounded, weakened and near death, the Scorpion fell to the ground,
Chiron, renowned healer, tended to her wounds and made her sound.
The mighty battle in the sky, Zeus watched, humbled,
As a titanic clash ensued and the worlds trembled.
Orion strode across the starry fields, fiery sword in hand,
Mighty of limb and mind, he forced Ursa to land.
Slashing back with claws, stronger than heavenly steel,
The Bear fought back, forcing the Hunter to kneel.
Ursa in battle, dwarfed Poseidon’s son, as he reared in rage,
As into his belly Orion drove his sword, forged by a mage.
The Lion and the Unicorn, charged and clashed with a clap of thunder,
With enmity stretching through the eons, they tore the heavens asunder.
Crashing to the Angles, Leo and Monoceros fought for the crown,
With no time for respite, they beat each other all around the town.
Awoken by the thunder, Merlin, in rage, cast his spell into the night,
Freezing them on a shield he then gifted to Artorius to enhance his might.
The Olympians watched the battle unfold from up high,
Almost too late they realized their time was drawing nigh.
Artorius, now crowned Arthur, restored peace on Earth,
As he brought to the Angles, traditions from the land of his birth.
New Gods arose and took on the mantles of power,
Forgotten and spurned, the Olympians, returned to their bower.
Lost in a changing world, the old Gods decided to leave,
They took to the distant heavens on a cold winter’s eve.
With them went all manners of beings of earth and sky,
In the vaults they took up residence as stars that never die.
The Scorpion was reunited with her love, the Moon, at last light,
And the Hunter and the Unicorn blazed forth as constellations bright.
Valiant enemies, the Lion and the Bear were granted a place in the stars,
And they took to the skies in a blaze of light, under the guard of a watchful Mars.
To do no harm and keep the peace, they swore upon their honor,
Emboldened by the promise, the moon came out of his corner.
The darkened skies blazed forth, shimmering in light,
As the Moon and Scorpion danced away through the night”
This poem belongs to the poetry archive on Chips’nCode. Where surviving legacy material exists, the original title graphic is kept with the poem as part of the record rather than rebuilt into something newer.
Copyright © Manoj Prajwal Bhattaram. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used with clear attribution, these poems may not be copied, redistributed, adapted, or used to create derivative works without prior written permission.