Aphrodite at the Coast
Reducing
angels to cupids
she entices her lover to surround her
so she can make him into art.
In waves,
she hears faint music,
strains to capture the melodies
but they are past her reach.
She dreams
of lost loves
that slipped away one by one,
beginning in childhood.
If only she
could run down the beach
where someone would chase her,
take her home,
start over
again, have a normal life,
without the constant, restless
lust for excitement.
After half
a century she is tired,
so she waits, washed ashore,
for the tide to turn.
Still not
ready to settle down,
she looks forward to more of her own company
from now on.
The 2River View, 4_1 (Fall 1999)