Bulfinch
wrote that Olympians
might never have
conquered the cosmos
if Old Man Saturn
had polished off
baby Jupiter, too.
For he’d devoured
Vesta, his eldest,
swallowed Ceres
and Pluto whole,
picked his teeth
with Juno’s humerus,
then chased Neptune
down with a brew.
And though
he still felt quite
murderous,
he hadn’t
left room
for dessert.
I learned to stay
out of her kitchen,
steered clear
of ovens
and knives,
developed a sense
of her hunger
and cleared out—
cross-country—
in time.
But I wonder—
did once I
have sisters?
Susan G. Duncan
Susan G. Duncan is a consultant with an arts clientele, capping an arts administration career. She served as executive director for San Francisco’s Beach Blanket Babylon, California Shakespeare Theater, and Grammy-winning ensemble Chanticleer. Her work has appeared in Atlanta Review, Blast Furnace, The MacGuffin, River Oak Review, and Thema, among others.