The Olympian Summit

(EPILOGUE: Wherein Zeus files his complaint, Jupiter weighs his judgment, and Cupid’s torment is finally undone—though not forgotten.)

The heavens shone in argent light,
As gods assembled, grand and high.
Upon Olympus, vast and proud,
A storm was brewing in the sky.

For Zeus had called a summit great,
A council vast, a throne adorned.
With eyes like fire and voice like stone,
A king prepared to raise his scorn.

The gods arrived in gold arrayed,
The halls of thunder filled with mirth.
Yet one alone in shame reclined—
A god whose name was torn from earth.

For Cupid, pale, his lips pressed tight,
Did sit, his head within his hands.
His wings now ruffled, plumes askew,
His heart still lost in dire demands.

For still his chest did pang and wane,
For still his mind was all undone.
No spell could break his wretched plight,
No power still what fate had spun.

And still, in halls of endless night,
A king of shade, with furrowed brow,
Did turn his gaze, did shake his head,
Did mutter soft, “Oh, not this now.”

Zeus’ Complaint to Jupiter

Then Zeus arose, his eyes alight,
A scroll of weight within his hand.
He cleared his throat, he raised his voice,
And thus proclaimed his great demand:

"To Jupiter, my Roman peer—"
"Thy reckless gods bring havoc here!"
"Behold my city—Corinth’s woe—"
"A love once bright, now lost below!"

"A goddess weeps, her temples bare!"
"A city mourns, no hearts embrace!"
"And all was wrought by trickster hands—"
"From thy domain—this thy disgrace!"

"See how Love, thy servant bold,"
"Now pines for Death—now weeps, ensnared!"
"See how thy jesters played their hand—"
"Now clean this folly—if thou darest!"

The words did echo, fierce and loud,
And all the halls fell hushed and still.
For Cupid, limp and lost in woe,
Could only moan, could only kneel.

Yet from his throne of marble bright,
With golden laurels, high and vast,
There sat a king, so calm, so bold,
A god of Rome, a ruler cast.

And Jupiter, in measured gaze,
Did breathe a sigh and rub his brow.
He raised his hand, he waved his scroll—
And read the charge, as if in jest.

"O Zeus, my friend, thy words are dire,"
"Thy voice is fierce, thy wrath is bright."
"Yet tell me, lord of storm and sky—"
"Why dost thou call my hands to fight?"

"The boy is Love—his fate is strife."
"He sought his war, he loosed his flame."
"If Love is lost, if Love is blind—"
"Then is it not his own to tame?"

A silence fell, a hush so vast,
As Zeus’s lips grew firm and grim.
For though the charge was rightly sworn,
Jupiter was unmoved by whim.

Yet still, as halls did shake with mirth,
As gods did whisper, jest, and cheer,
One voice alone did break the game,
One voice, so soft—so filled with ire.

For Aphrodite, fierce and bright,
Did step before the thrones so high.
Her golden form, her burning gaze,
Did shake the air, did bend the sky.

"O Jupiter, thy jest is clear—"
"Yet Love is mine, and mine to keep!"
"Shall gods be mocked, shall vows be torn?"
"Shall passion die, shall mortals weep?"

"Thy jest has played, thy game is done!"
"Now mend this folly, mend this strife!"
"If love must reign, if hearts must turn—"
"Then end his pain—return his life!"

And Jupiter, so great, so wise,
Did bow his head, did close his eyes.
For fate was turned, the jest was spun,
Yet mercy still must have its run.

The Judgment of Jupiter

Then Jupiter, in voice so strong,
Did raise his hand, did cast his rule.
His eyes did burn, his lips did part,
And thus proclaimed his fateful boon:

"Enough of folly, enough of jest—"
"Enough of Love brought low in shame!"
"His penance paid, his trial won—"
"No jest shall break his name again."

"Rise, Cupid, Love—thy fate undone!"
"Thy passion quelled, thy torment gone!"
"The arrow deep within thy thigh—"
"Shall part from flesh—thy will is thine!"

And in that space, the air stood still,
The halls did quake, the heavens turned.
As from his wound, with golden light,
The cursed dart was pulled, unburned.

A gasp, a cry, a breath unchained,
A heart released, a soul unbound.
For Cupid, freed, at last stood tall,
No longer lost, no longer drowned.

Yet still, his name was bathed in jest,
Yet still, his fate would not be light.
For though the curse was torn away,
His shame would last beyond the night.

Then Jupiter, in final tone,
Did cast his rule on those who played.
For Mercury, for Laverna sly,
For Discord’s queen, so fierce, so fey—

"Ye tricksters three, thy jest is done!"
"Now to Corinth—clean thy fun!"
"For love was turned, for bonds were torn—"
"Ye set this mess—now mend, restore!"

And Cupid, pale but standing firm,
Did bow his head at last in peace.
For though his pride was lost in time,
His heart was whole, his will released.

Then Jupiter, with mighty gaze,
Did turn to Love and speak once more.

"Now go—make right what once was wrong."
"Go forth, restore where hearts still mourn."
"Go, find thy kin—thy mother fair."
"Let Love once more be known—reborn."

And thus the halls of gods stood still,
As fate was sealed, as bonds were sworn.
And Cupid, Love, though scarred with time,
Was free to fly, to love, to mourn.

And yet, through halls where echoes rang,
Where gods still laughed, where poets spoke,
A single truth was left to tell—
A warning sharp, a jest well broke.