In the time when the world was young and its wonders were still a marvel to behold, there existed a realm where humans lived in blissful harmony with nature's grandeur. Amidst rolling hills and cascading waterfalls, the ancient city of Serenora thrived under the benevolent gaze of a celestial guardian known as the Sky Goddess, Selene.

Selene's essence embodied the ethereal dance of the heavens, and her presence brought balance to the delicate tapestry of elements. Her voice carried the whispers of gentle rains and thunderous storms, and her tears manifested as the life-giving showers that nourished the lands.

The people of Serenora revered Selene, for she was the bringer of life and fertility. With grateful hearts, they offered prayers and offerings, cherishing the prosperity her benevolence bestowed upon them. The city flourished, its fields yielding abundant harvests, and its rivers teeming with life.

Yet, as centuries passed, complacency seeped into the hearts of the Serenorans. Amidst their prosperity, they began to take Selene's gifts for granted, heedlessly exploiting the bounties of nature. The ancient forests were cleared, and the rivers tainted by careless waste. The once harmonious relationship between the people and the elements began to fray, and Selene's heart ached with sorrow.

Feeling the weight of the people's disregard, Selene's eyes brimmed with tears that mirrored the anguish in her celestial heart. Her tears cascaded down like shimmering stars, falling gently upon the earth. However, the people, consumed by their own desires, failed to grasp the significance of her sorrowful tears.

The consequences of their actions became starkly evident as the lands parched under a relentless drought. The once lush fields withered, and the rivers ran dry. The warmth of the sun's rays turned scorching, and a veil of despair draped over Serenora.

Recognizing the gravity of their mistakes, a humble group of farmers sought wisdom from the elders who still held fragments of the old ways. With reverence and contrition, they embarked on a pilgrimage to the sacred mountain where Selene's ethereal presence dwelled.

As they approached the goddess, a palpable sense of awe and trepidation filled the air. With voices quivering, they confessed their wrongdoings and expressed profound remorse for their actions. They vowed to amend their ways, to honor the land and Selene's sacred gift of balance once more.

Moved by their sincerity, Selene's celestial form shimmered with ethereal light. Her heart softened, and tears began to stream down her celestial cheeks like a gentle rain. The drought began to ease, and the earth gratefully drank in her healing tears, rejuvenating the once parched soil.

Selene granted the Serenorans forgiveness, imparting upon them a profound understanding of the value of the land and the sacred equilibrium of nature. From that moment on, the people embarked on a sacred journey to honor and protect the gifts bestowed upon them.

The tale of Selene's Tears became a cherished legacy, passed down through generations, serving as a reminder of the consequences of hubris and the importance of nurturing a harmonious bond with the world around them. Serenora's people pledged to be mindful stewards of nature, ensuring that droughts would be rare and that the realm would forever flourish under the benevolent watch of their celestial guardian, Selene.

Draughts are laughs pitcher-after-pitcher wrought

Flows of abundance, sadly, dehydrate our tomorrows

Until the laughs have all been laughed away, never to return

:terra tomorrow

Droughts are doubts that have run out of answers

The moist explanations have evaporated away

Until what is left are parched silicates too stuck onto a hungover world

:terra bleary

Thoughts unthought through, though,

Ought fraught with hardfought naught

Drought handwrought in onslaught, bought

:terra regretta

Eat, drink, and be merry,

For tomorrow the Earth dies

:terror draught-drought-fraught

The giver of fertility was long revered. A spider god/dess, spiders were cherished for centuries but slowly lost favor with people. They began finding them horrific and hideous, and they were killed for existing. Spiders are good at keeping other pests at bay and having a lot of babies at once. For this reason, spiders represented the fertility that prevents droughts. Droughts also bring other crazy natural events such as wildfires and subsequent flooding when water is introduced. These are the pests spiders fought off before humans started killing them. Their babies were like raindrops in a drizzle, enough to accomplish the goal, but not so much that it is overdone. The droughts persist until humans find respect for these helpful creatures once more. In the meantime, the weather will worsen as the spiders are forcibly eradicated.

Drought is the side-effect

of the falling-out of

the Cabinet,

where all is tossed-aside

in false argument

mis-combined

again . . .

evaporating

on the edge

of the counter

in crusted agony

upon the rout

so much so,

The Great Medicine Man

Himself

must ponder

a solution

to the

cracking of

the problem!

like in

articulating

Trade vs. Art?

which plagues

many

grains of sand

and salt

with debilitude

of parched and

heavy arms

and receding gums

of the sun stroked

. . who would

wish to add

a final word

and can not

give but one

last drop .

07.23.2023

Myth of Why We Have Droughts challenge @Ola_8

The old gods are said to predate our world if not the entire universe. While the meteorological operations of other worlds are unknown to us at this time, we know that Jupiter is the one tasked with reigning over our skies. He keeps the elements balanced above and around us every day.

Jupiter is a just god who values balance over all. The ice that covers the mountain during winter will nourish the creatures living in the valley come springtime. He is also a temperamental being.

Humanity has started to try to take over his role. Mere mortals are playing god. Artificial dams in rivers, climbers trodding all over the sacred mountains, garbage in the rivers, even irrigation systems to avoid Jupiter’s punishments. They were sick of living in a destructive cycle based on his moods, so they adapted. He could do the same. The difference is that the humans had lives to lose instead of mere egos to bruise. They were not playing the same game.

Jupiter sends the storm of a millennium to the region: tornadoes sucking up entire villages, hail the size of a child’s fist, and a blanket of frost over the land to choke the life out of every crop planted there. He screams in thunderclaps and throws rays of lightening at the people below. Beside him, his wife Juno sobs at the destruction she witnesses below. Her tears sweep entire homes and farms away.

A plane flies by Jupiter’s nose and leaves a cloud of fumes that swirl around him. A piece of scrap metal that had been jettisoned by a rocket falls from orbit and bounces off his head. Clearly the humans did not appreciate his contributions. They did not appreciate all he did to control the elements that would always rule over their society. They tried to take over his role. They tried to be him. They would get exactly what they wanted — to take his place.

Jupiter decides to leave. Us mere mortals are not quite privy to information about how other worlds function, or even their existence at all. We just know that he left for a new world, a new challenge, a new home. For months, there are no devastating storms and the people rejoice. They take the time to rebuild their homes and their lives. Then they realize that Jupiter had taken the rains with him, too.

That marks the beginning of the end. Crops wither into dust, fires burn entire forests into ashes. People eat what is left until no more would grow. Soon, the mountaintops lack their familiar glaze on top. People are parched. Animals are dying.

Juno waits dutifully for her husband to return. Eventually, she loses track of how long she had been in his absence. A gentle rain finally falls over the village. Juno weeps softly from the top of Mount Olympus.

It will be years before he returns. Legends of Great Floods and Droughts decimating humanity span throughout history. It has happened before and it will happen again. The great cycle restarts just like humanity’s countdown clock. It won’t be long before he is fed up with us all again. Our army is working hard to develop our own meteorological management devices for when that time comes. Next time, we’ll be ready for him.