The Laws Of Nature

Hebe was serious about her responsibilities

for the young mortals down below. 

She watched them having the time of their lives,

and wanted it to last for ever,

at least for the best of them, 

her special selection,

those she invited to drink her heavenly potion.

She heard the grumblings of the older mortals

that young people were so disrespectful,

ungrateful for their elders advice.

“Twas ever thus” she thought, 

“the old forget their youth, it passes too quickly”

So she was pleased to spread a little happiness,

and hoped to watch it trickle down

a few drops at a time from that sweet spring.

There were dissenting voices amongst the gods as well.

“She’s turning Olympus into Shangri-la”, they grumbled.

They didn’t want mortals to become immortal,

well, it was against all the laws of nature,

there would be tourists next, wedding venues overbooked

and holiday homes on the lower slopes,

“They’ll swamp us, change our culture, threaten our way of life”

The murmurs spread like a plague

and Aphrodite warned her to take care,

that some were out to take away her gift.

The grumblings of the older mortals

were also growing in number

as the young mortals who were ageing

left behind their friends who had sipped from the spring.

No one seemed happy,

not the gods or mortals, 

not the young or old.

She despaired 

of their ingratitude and disrespect

and felt grumpy herself.

“I must be getting old!”, she thought.

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