Cascading ivory lace, ambrosia on porcelain plates, and a golden apple tree
Zeus in all his intimidating glory, a true sight to see
All the immortals clap as Hera tenderly kisses his lips
The force of it rocking the world, like lovers' colliding, rolling hips
Satyrs chase around nymphs, lovestruck and enchanted by the look in the bride's eyes
But little did she know of her new husband's crafty disguise
Lightning and churning skies
Hera's joy crumbles and dies
He swore with pretty words that he'd stay faithful and true
Charmed Hera with brightened charisma and skies endlessly blue
Won her over slowly with the silver tongue of a snake
But her pride and dignity was at stake
He tricked her into admitting love
Besting her so she could become his Queen of the Heavens Above
He paraded around with a new woman on his arm each week
But swore to her she was exactly what he sought, and would forever seek
He took the form of a cuckoo and flew to her quarters with a cunning plan
Little did she know that cuckoo was that scoundrel of a man
She cared tenderly and unsuspectingly for the little bird
And then unknowingly uttered to him that treacherously powerful "L" word
Before her very eyes the bird became Zeus, who with grandeur announced a deal's a deal
And a love blossomed in Hera's heart that was acingly real
He took her in his arms and swore she was his one and only
And she suddenly felt far less lonely
Under the caressing touch of Selene's moon and Helio's sun
Hera and Zeus danced and spun
Stardust sprawling in the heavens above as he took her delicate hand
And promised their life together would be perfectly grand
This is what Hera sees every time she closes her eyes
Guile and an intoxicating yet tragic guise
Haunted by what was promised yet snuffed like a candle's flickering flame
And the thought that only she was to blame
Yes, there were happy days too and for years Zeus was faithful and true
But soon his eyes wandered yonder far for something new
Hera bore him Ares, Eileithyia, and youthful Hebe
But Zeus missed the days he could gavot and womanize freely
Hera saw it all and smoldered with envy and rage
And disaster and sun-blotting misery flounced center stage
We start with Semele
Who mothered a god, but at a cost she didn't anticipate as a part of the deal
She was achingly beautiful, but devastatingly delicate and mortal
And never even had the chance to hear her child's babble and chortle
When her stomach began to swell Zeus didn't give it a second thought
That revenge was just what Hera sought
He visited her often still and didn't think a scorned Hera would catch on or see
But Semele was no match for Hera's desperation to have her husband all to herself, and her idea that violence was the key
Hera visited the stunning princess under a disguise of her own, one head to toe
As Semele's childhood nursemaid, a crone of the name Beroe
She advised the delicate beauty to ask Zeus to appear to her in his true form
Only Hera knew that was a swirling pillar of fire and storm
She told Semele that was the sole way to confirm his divinity as Heaven's King
She could not just rely on his looks and the way her heart felt during this whirlwind, exhilarating fling
Semele had some doubts but Hera set them aflame
And convinced Semele and manipulated the situation just the same
She hobbled off to watch from afar
As poor Semele vaporized, leaving nothing behind but a child who would have aplenty mental scar
Zeus could still smell her lily perfume
But she was nothing but scorch marks on the walls of the room
Somehow, their half-formed child survived the blast
And Zeus, consumed with guilt, refused to let the fetus's days be their last
Misery came over him like his own tempestuous storms
But in true desperation ingenuity forms
He took his mighty lightning bolts and sliced into his thigh
In went the baby, not something to try unless you're the godly king of the sky
Hera bided her time to go after the child
Semele's demise wasn't enough, Hera's pain grew deadly and wild
When the child was ready to be born
He'd suffer much by Hera's hand, and have much to mourn
But he was safe in Zeus's thigh for the moment
But now let's turn to the story of Io and a devastating bestowment
Io knew a relationship with Zeus meant certain doom and trouble
And fought to reject him many times, until he turned her resistance to rubble
She agreed to meet him in a meadow clearing
And Zeus couldn't believe what he was hearing
Hera's heart filled with despair, then hardended like liquid steel
And she struck with the agony she couldn't help but feel
As Zeus was about to kiss Io's rosebud lips
And collide and rock against her his needy hips
Hera came barreling down from the heavens and Zeus acted fast
And turned poor Io into a cow, a deception that definitely wouldn't last
Struck with pain and a yearning for sweet vengeance, Hera asked "innocently" why he had a cow
And sweat gathered on Zeus's immortal brow
Hera felt a cruel satisfaction as he visibly fumbled
Up high above the sky groaned and rumbled
Zeus, not anticipating her questioning, blurted the cow was a gift for her
The cow that was Io felt a primal fear begin to stir
Hera just grinned with a maiden's innocence and said what a thoughtful gift
And proclaimed she'd take her new heifer someplace where she'd be well-protected, and make it swift
Hera's eyes fought against rogue enraged tears
But in her despair she vowed to end Zeus's mistresses and his unfaithful years
She hired a giant with thousands of eyes that never slept to watch the cow
And Zeus asked himself many times over what he would do now
Finally, Hermes, the god of trickery, pulled an ace from up his sneaky sleeve
And murdered the giant in cold blood, hard to believe
He retrieved the cow Io and Zeus returned her to her true form
And he secretly continued to court her, but poor Io would face yet another storm
After Zeus tired of his fling with the poor, unfortunate girl
He abandoned her and yes, her fate would make your very hair curl
Hera turned her back into a cow and sent a gadfly to torment her til the end of her days
Another unfortunate ending for a mistress- Hera was sure she'd squash Zeus's womanizing ways
But like clockwork another pretty woman caught Zeus's wandering eye
And Hera despaired, her heart curling up to die
Leto was a beautiful Titaness and she was delighted to be expecting Zeus's twins
Until she realized Zeus's mistresses rarely had what you'd call wins
He swore he'd protect her and held her close
But Hera's wrath burned wild, like a hefty poison dose
She waited to strike until Leto went into labor
And sliced into Leto's excitement, sharp and piercing like a saber
She swore Leto would suffer, and her twins never born
Her rage flashed like lightning, although inside she was nothing but worn
She enacted a vow from every place rooted in the Earth to not allow Leto to rest on them and give birth
Her cruelty stunned a'many, not just the gentle goddesses, like Hestia at the hearth
But what was done was done
Although in the end, with a technicality Leto won
But that's a story for another time
Let's now turn to Alcmeme, whose story was a true crime
She was not your average victim, she was virtuous and wise
But Zeus saw red when she appeared before his eyes
She'd never bend for the immortal sleaze
So he took on a form she'd bed with ease
Her husband, who was away
And he took advantage of the poor princess, that very day
She fell pregnant with Zeus's child
And Hera, enraged and hurt, went wild
When Alcmeme's was ready to go into labor
Hera went to a godly daughter, she was crazed by envy for a neighbor
She asked Ilithyia, goddess of childbirth for a favor to wreak vengeance on the girl
And within a storm began to churn and swirl
She forced Alcmeme to suffer in labor for 7 long days and nights
But that wasn't enough for poor Hera, who set Alcmene's child in her sights
The child was Heracles, maybe you've heard of him
But his babyhood and life were very dark, very grim
When he was just a babe an enraged Hera sent 2 serpents to kill him in his cradle at night
But the baby hero strangled them with uncanny strength, an impressive feat and sight
But even then Hera was far from done
Her wrath burned with the strength of the Sun
When Heracles grew into a young man he married Megara and had children of his own
But Hera couldn't forget her own pain, her heart cracked like stone
This was the happiness she thought she'd have with Zeus, it wasn't fair
He didn't seem to even care
Hera drove the young hero temporarily insane and in the thralls he killed his wife and kids
A scene that would haunt him every time he closed his lids
Heracles was just one of many victims to Hera's rage
This is just the tip of the iceberg of the wrath that took center stage
Hera may've been vicious, yes it's true
But what would YOU do?
An immortal life of watching your love betray you again and again?
To marry a man that would make you forsake men?
Her agony and grief knew no end
And she could not even lean on a friend
Pain grew wild like a garden untamed
And as king of the heavens Zeus could not be blamed
Hera despaired but there was nothing she could do
She vowed to love Zeus and only Zeus til the universe was through
She bore him fine children but he still went astray
And Hera's sense of right and wrong turned a little gray
What would you do in her shoes?
When promised the world and a sky clear shades of blues?
Would you suffer silently or seek revenge and a possible fix?
With a heart as heavy as one thousand bricks?
She may've been wrong, yes it's true
But she never anticipated what that scoundrel Zeus would do
He may've been the god of the sky and lighting storms
But Hera's heart erupted a storm of its own, in many forms
She sought vengeance, ran rampant, and just hoped for it to all go away
And for perfidious Zeus to be faithful every night and every day
With the viciousness of a vulture she struck and attacked
And swore to herself she'd win him back, albeit the odds were stacked
As the goddess of marriage it wasn't in her nature to be untrue
And she just didn't know what to think or do
She became a queen of the heavens but at what cost?
Her joy was slaughtered, and permanently lost
Oh, unfortunate Hera suffered every night and every day
Yearning for a happiness not destined to last or stay
