The Mythology of Death
Poetry
by Michael Montlack

Hades, also known as Aides—
the “Unseen”—became invisible
when wearing his helmet, a gift
from the Cyclops.

Deaf to flattery, numb to sacrifice,
the underworld ruler was once moved
by the sad song of a beautiful and talented man
seeking his lost love.

Orpheus would later turn to men
after his wife died the second time.

Could even the god of darkness be that dark,
as to inflict the same grief twice, opening wider
the already infinitely gaping wound?
Greedy to sustain all his tenants,
his wealth of death, it seems yes.

Such power appears cowardly
armed with invisibility
against a weaker race
so dependent on sight,
(and to think—this gift,
for a god with everything,
had come from a creature
with just one eye.)

Do they—our lost lovers
and our lovers yet to be lost—
expect us to attempt similar
senseless journeys? To sing,
to beg, to offer our gifts
for yet one more chance
to lose them?

Helmet-less, we don
our only protection:
We already love men
and know how to turn to them
in the repetitious waves of grief.

Michael Montlack's work has appeared in Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide, Christopher Street, New York Native, Bay Windows, In the Family, Lodestar Quarterly, and other magazines. He lives in New York City, teaches at Berkeley College, and is an associate editor for Mudfish.

March 2006