The Legacy of Echo
Zeus quite often descended to earth
To flirt with the nymphs and dance.
But ere long, his jealous wife Hera
Caught wind of this illicit romance.
Often she scoured the hillsides for him,
Listening for a giggle or laugh.
But whenever the tell-tell signs led her near,
A young nymph stepped across her path.
Now Echo was a charming nymph,
And chatted to hold Hera at bay.
She stalled the goddess in order for Zeus
To quietly slip away.
When Hera realized this, in wrath
Upon Echo she laid a curse:
"Henceforth, you’ll have the last word,"
Said she, "but never the first."
From that day forward, Echo but spoke
The last words of anything said,
But the end of Echo’s story
Still lies further up ahead.
She loved on sight a youth named Narcissus,
But still did pine away.
For he was too conceited to love any but himself,
And only his last words back to him could she say.
So Echo returned to a lonely cave,
And this is where she pined.
Her beauty and life faded away,
Leaving only her voice behind.
And still if you stand on a mountain high
And yell out a message, you’ll see
That your last words come right back to you—
Remnants of Echo’s legacy.
Copyright ©1997 by Veronica L. F. Jensen
