You As Andromeda, Myself Nearby Poem by Daniel Brick

How about Andromeda? Would you
be willing to do a stint as the Princess
of a distant Kingdom, rough, untamed,
but magical in the gorgeous array of its Court?
Expect to be breathless after your first
rehearsal: the role will take you
to the center of your identity as a woman,
every possible encounter between you
and the world will occur. You will be
the obedient daughter of her parents' need;
you will be the gracious friend, alternately
blessed and cursed by your inevitable beauty;
your goodness will be celebrated, but it will
summon forth a monster of surpassing vulgarity
and you will find in your psyche an excess of
strength to halt its course of evil. But -
that Victory will require The Other, for whom
you will not realize until his breath touches
your cheek you are longing... After you,
dear Princess, this man, who may have once been
a god, is the best the world can offer.
On long winter nights, he will make you laugh
in the warmth of his company, and on summer nights,
he will spread the spell of the fabled Green Man
over all who linger in the perfumed air.

This is all MYTH. It is the deepest truth we can grasp
in our brief lives. You must understand by now,
the time of rehearsals has given way to the time of
these encounters. This is no test, it is Fate, your Fate
but also the world's Fate. Some encounters occur as the sun
arches over you and animates every cell of your body,
every joy in your heart, every good deed of your spirit.
Others will occur in the night world of Shadows
in your sleep. Realities and Dreams will be continually
exchanging places in the drama of this life
you have assumed. I am always nearby, your witness
and your guardian. My joy expands in your service.