Michaela A. Gabriel

070

YTTERBIUM (YB)
          RIGHT OF THE PLEIADES, SIX MINUTES AFTER DUSK

beside a cluster of chickens the sacred fire burns, high in an ashen sky.
the child of sun and lady blue star rises, walks on swift and silent feet.

shadows touch his shoulders, turn him into a hunter. wind speaks in a
falsetto voice, nudges planets into wry, improper patterns. the boy bends

to the sapling that will become his spear, leaves a window in the fabric
of his world. the great bull strikes. after the fall, old woman teaches him

to follow the scent into the heart of darkness, and live. he prepares
for destiny: slays a beast with three horns, slits the serpent open,

rides the first wave of the vast new river. far above, the white buffalo
sleeps beside the seven sisters, dreaming of the arrow that will not miss.

Michaela A. Gabriel lives in Vienna, Austria, where she teaches English to adults and occasionally does translation work. She has been widely published both online and in print, has recently overcome a very stubborn spell of writer's block and is now trying to finish her full-length collection, elemental.