“It is said that Prometheus
ascended into heaven
and secretly lit his torch
at the chariot of Helios,
in order
to bring down fire to man”

He flung his arms wide,
and besieged us from the heavens.
He spoke of a legacy he had seen—
of worship and festivals lit by our heart,
but Zeus had forbidden us from dancing on earth;
it was grave to even linger our fiery glance there,
yet he, brother of afterthought,
wanted us to skip across the waters of earth.

Once, ages ago, my people knew many colors,
and we roared many tongues,
but the elders brought about brilliance—
out of misshapen shapes and void formed—
Gaia.
And of Gaia, fashioned in beauty,
raised the muddy faces of humans,
an extension to her brilliant transparency.

Those faces called me,
we longed to meet and know them.
so we made a pact with him,
and we will dance with those beings of earth and water.
I will mesmerize and I will smile,
and the pact named us, Fire.
A gift to their hearths,
I met their singing faces.

Invited to dance,
I taught them our dance.
They saw my dance and named me again—
Flame.
I became a never ending dance,
for I lift my eyes to the heavens and sang among lit faces.
Prometheus, the pact was true,
Today, as told by you, I am praised for my dance.