Why The Gods Left No Trace When They Died

 
Even as the gods walked the horizon, 
they knew that people would come after they had left;
and so they considered how to let them know 
that gods had preceded them.
 
We could carve our names into rock, said one god.
 
They would think their ancestors had done it, said another. 
 
We could raise an edifice so intricate they would know 
only gods could have done such a thing.
 
It would frighten them. 
They would tear it down when they came upon it.
 
If we leave no trace at all, perhaps they will make us up.
 
And so the gods removed every trace 
of their having ever walked the horizon. 
They silenced the birds, 
stopped the clouds in their tracks, 
rolled the sun and moon into a single ball, 
put the sea to rest, 
drained the color from the Earth.
 
When they had finished, a god said,
We are leaving behind a dismal place.
 
Perhaps, said another god,It is better to leave our works.
 
And that is why the world is beautiful 
and the gods forgotten.
 

 

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