[AUTHOR'S NOTES:  For anyone who has been taking notes, my favorite Shitennou is Jadeite.  I think he's an ace.  I'm not that fond of Kunzite (actually, I go in spurts over him; first I think he's great, then I'll reconsider and think he's a bit of a bastard); and Zoisite has never been on my Top Ten List of Favorite Bishounen.

Although I've never been all that crazy about Nephrite, I've been feeling sorry for him lately.  So.  Here is my first attempt at DK poetry, and if you don't like it, all I can say is that at least it's not Best Served Hot, all right?

See you at the bottom of the page.]


 

ASPERAM AD ASTRA

by
Saint Erythros


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The stars wheel and they turn
guiding our destinies
influencing our thought
    and planning our fates

or so they say

and no one ever stops to think
how ridiculous it is
that balls of fiery gas
can possibly control the
minds
brains
actions
karma
of rational sentient beings.

This is nonsense
of course
but then this world is nonsense

And my stars are my guide and my sanctuary
against the magicians of everyday life.
 
Zoisite laughs at me,
Kunzite sneers;
Jadeite has never been known to pay attention to
the prognostications
or the astromancy
that governs my waking
and dreaming
worlds --

And what do I care for their opinions?

I am Nephrite,
Lord of the Stars;
I am Nephrite,
Second King of the Dark Kingdom;
I am Nephrite,
and among the hordes of Metallia
I am accounted mighty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

II.


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Orion
and Menelmacar,
Orion
and Cassiopeia -
a weak constellation there;
you might consider that,
if power from the stars is your desire -
Orion
and Ursa Major
are my greatest friends
my oldest friends
the ones who greet me
gladly and impatiently,
the only ones with whom I converse freely
and without fear for compromising
my secrets
my plans
my plots
my self

They love me
and they know me

They give me my power
and all they ask in return is
that I speak with them of
Earth, the World that Is,
and so let them free for a brief time
from their endless lonely vigils in the darkness
and the remote fastness of heaven.
 
The stars are not my minions
although they do my bidding;
the stars are not my slaves
although I command their power
and their strength.

The stars are my friends.

Can Zoisite say as much
can Kunzite
can Jadeite ever boast of so many comrades?

The stars know everything,
and they will gladly tell me
in return for my care and for my news
of the World that Is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

III.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And can the stars tell me
of my past?

They can,
and they have.

I was the Guardian of the West,
the one who Looked into the west of the Earth
and informed my lord Endymion of
his people
his lands
his concerns
over the great wide expanse of
the Amazon rain forests
of the pyramid-builders in the Yucatán
of the archers of the midlands
and above all
I kept watch over the few small demons
who swarmed jealously
and who would fain harm
the
Prince
of Earth.

My name was not Nephrite then;
that name belongs to the man of the later days
it belongs to the King of the Dark Kingdom,
and not to the man who loved and guarded
the young
Prince
of Earth.

My love was not the stars then;
that love belongs to the man of the later days,
and of darker needs than those which drove the Guardian of the West.

Her name was --

But let that lie;
the man who was not Nephrite
and the lady who was not what she is now
(so much dust, like the pillars of Serenity's palace)
shall have their own identities,
though our faces are the same.

Her title, then, was Senshi Jupiter,
the Soldier of Strength and of Lightning;
generous her laughter and quick her frown.

She loved me, I believe,
and the man who was not Nephrite loved her in return,
adorning her neck with green jewels
and her ears with pale pink roses -

And it passed,
for the man who was not
but slowly was becoming
Nephrite
betrayed her,
and her companions the Senshi,
and turned to Metallia
and was lost to the Silver Millennium
and to beloved young
Endymion,
the
Prince
of Earth.

The man who was not Nephrite
and I,
the man who is Nephrite,
are the same in face and stature
but our souls are as far in remove
as are Arcturus and Polaris,
as different as the hues of bloody Rigel
and serene white Sirius.

We are not the same
and the man who is Nephrite
and who has his stars for guidance
is content to have it so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IV.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And yes,
it is ridiculous
to think of the stars governing our lives --

But think on this,
my poor stupid children of the light.

Think well on it.

My stars know all.

And their power is all.

And they have told me,
and why should I doubt them?
that the man who is Nephrite
will die at the height of his power and his stature,
that the man who is Nephrite
will exceed in power and in soul
Jadeite
Zoisite
Kunzite,
and even Beryl herself.

Think on it!

The man who is Nephrite
will be greater than they.

The man who is Nephrite
will exceed them.

The stars know all.

And that is what they tell me --

The man who is Nephrite
will be the greatest man out of the Kingdom.


Well?  Was it really as horrible as hindsight believes it to be?

Ah, who cares, I'm going to have a milkshake now.  I would be greatly obliged if you would e-mail me and tell me what you thought of it...

Sure, it's not Sardonyx' work, but then, what is?

Saint Erythros