Eurydice by Kasper Van Es (16, Colorado)

Orpheus must've known
The Eurydice wasn't going to make it out.
He must've known
Through the gods,
Or his rotten luck,
Or plain common sense
That she wasn't leaving with him.
Better to get it over with
And see her one last time
Than to be disappointedly alone
Under the glaring sun.

---

Or did he choose
Poetry over a happy ending?
Did he choose 
To immortalize her in lyrics
Rather than wait for another ending?

Or perhaps Eurydice choose
To stop and say
"Turn around".
To stop
And choose to have peace.
To live as a metaphor
And die as a lover. 

But I am not Orpheus,
And I am not Eurydice.
My life's not tragic,
Just sad.

I wait for a melody
That won't ever come,
And roll over in my grave
To try and get some sleep.

My own poetry
Tastes like pomegranate seeds
And echoes with the force
Of my cavernous despair.

I am not Orpheus
And I am not Eurydice
For my hubris
Sings with longing
And plummets like Icarus.

Did he suffer
Or was that the burden of Daedalus alone?

Daedalus alone
Carried on that story.
A father's grief
Enough that we remember the name Icarus,
A name he carried back to shore.

A warning tale
Or tragedy
Neither meant to be.
Just
A father's grief.

My life is not a tragedy,
Just sad.
So maybe my wings will hold
To the other side.
So maybe I won't look back
This time.
So maybe,
Through the gods,
Or luck,
Or plain common sense
I'll live to the end.
Because I am not Orpheus,
And I am not Eurydice.​