Artemis 

Frankly, her twin brother was usually everyone’s
favorite; bright-eyed, worshipped, well, sunny, 

in a matter of speaking; she was more aloof, 
constant in her inconsistencies, some evenings

a crescent and others, a faint silhouette.
She was usually not one to mind these things, 

she won us over steadily, with the promise 
of the hunt, the chase, her thrilling lantern light 

casting over the peaks and gorges; she let 
herself really outshine him then; always the archer

yet she kept vigil over the woodlands, animals 
and the wild; virgins who followed her example

and to those who had fallen under the spell of Eros 
-- mothers to be, on the verge of giving birth.

Another day, another girl, another American sonnet....my youngest daughter pointed

out to me today that the sun was shining and yet the moon was still out too (it

was 10 o'clock in the morning). I looked it up, and according to some ancient

calendar, it is considered to be the birthday of artemis on nov. 6