The sky had two daughters
and said to the first,

"I shall call you Sun,
and sprinkle golden sunlight in your hair.
Your eyes will be light
coming through the first spring leaves.
When you smile,
people will smile because of it,
and your laughter
will be the sound of birds just out of the nest."

The sky had two daughters,
and said to the second,

"I shall call you Shade,
and weave blue and copper shadows through your hair.
Your eyes will be cooling magma
pooling up from deep within the earth.
When you smile,
people will wonder what you are thinking,
and your laughter
will be the sound of the ocean at night."

When the sky's two daughters
were old enough to know the temptation
of feminine comparison,
the first said to the second,

"You must admit, I am superior, sister.
See how the people seek me out
for warmth and sustenance.
See how the flowers stretch their heads
to look at me."

The second said,
"No, sister, you are wrong.
See how the people yield to me
their secrets.
See how the flowers trust me
to guard them in their sleep."

And on they argued
for millennia,
sometimes one dominating,
sometimes another.

And on they argue

still.

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