Poem: "The Waters of Hades"
This poem came out of the November 2, 2010 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from xjenavivex and sponsored out of the general fund.
The Waters of Hades
-- dactylic couplets
Styx is the river of Hades below
Marking the bounds where no mortals may go
Winding the Underworld nine times around
Spiraling inward with nary a sound.
Charon the Ferryman waits on the bank
Taking his fee with a clink and a clank
Poling the souls through the currents of hate
Leaving them safely to meet their last fate.
This is the passage that lies beyond life,
River that washes us clean of our strife
Joining with Phlegethon, river of flame
Acheron also, the healer by name
Lastly Kokytos, the river of wails
Reaches the marsh where the dead tell their tales.
These are the rivers of Hades' domain
Marking the lines of his hidden terrain;
These are the rivers that all souls must pass
Once they have emptied the last hour's glass.
Learn them and honor them all through your days,
'Til you greet Charon, a friend to his ways.