Aphrodite

Aphrodite- Venus Milo.

Ever enchanting, my looks and figure still work their magic.

Surrounding the tall pedestal, you stand, you, modern brethren of my cult—

my flock of ethereal beauty and the looks, - elixir to the eyes,

my worshippers with cameras and phones.

For centuries I was praised, prayed to, adored for my tender, loving heart and feared for the brutal longing, pangs of jealousy and love,

fiery passions and transgressions,

tricks I could play on anyone I wished!

I had seen processions of barefoot maidens clad in golden garlands singing hymns and numerous libations flowing like a lively spring in my temples.

But you—contemporary throngs of youth and old—

you dare come to me without the offerings—sweet honey and the milk and anemones and daffodils-

all are absent.

No processions, no hymns or dances!

Barehanded and bareheaded, with no reverence or prayers, you stare speechless, eyes adoring silently,

mind gasping in search of similes to my unsurpassed divinity!

Left in awe and taking photos from all the angles, as I stand colorless—just white pristine marble, armless,

in my proud nakedness against your searching looks.

I, Aphrodite—Goddess of ultimate love and passions- an unimaginable force, born from the froth of the ocean, and here at my feet—

at the base of a statue in my true image,

Named Venus Milo—

you gather with your smartphones to pay your respects,

snapping mostly selfies—to a divinity of beauty that endures all…

I cast a glance upon you from above,

nonchalant, chaste, unfazed by such daring attitudes,

proud, strutting this marvel of the marble body, for millennia defiant of your age-long attentions and adorations!

Days, years, centuries might harm the stone but the ideals and perception of the beauty unscathed, I carry on triumphant!

Regardez-moi!

Mind you!

The fireworks will fly as long as I—the merry, smiling, mischievous Goddess—choose

to play on you my tricks—

oh, poor you!

A crowd of rather bleak mortals, gathered here in these halls to partake in perfect harmony of form and essence…

Rest assured, you will ever stay as

my humble servants in worship

of the beauty and the grace

and love,

so I, the daughter of

the Ocean and the Skies

Defy the time,

live on triumphant…

Original poem by

Tamar Shengelia

Powell, Nov 25, 2017