Aphrodite

Our carriage rolled along a narrow street, 

rumbling over cobblestones, passing signs

that creaked in the alpine breeze and streetlamp

flickers. The midnight sky and its crush of

stars glowed, a distance beyond the whisper

of my prayers.

Aphrodite gazed at me solemnly, saying, 

"I have great pity for Sappho; she threw 

herself from a cliff into the Aegean Sea. 

So it is with all whom I love."

Reviews

[redd Brick Keshner]

I was wondering that “so it is” refers to the pity or to the loved one that throws themselves off cliffs; or both… a intriguing love that Aphrodite has… but I must be reading too much into it. 🙏🏻🕊

[Perry]

Hi Keshner, I don't think you're reading too much into it. Writers like to think everything is clear when it's their own stuff. Not always the case, lol. In my mind, this poem is Aphrodite's response to Saphho's famous poem "An Ode to Aphrodite."

[redd Brick Keshner]

Oh, that’s an interesting angle there, and in contrast to my tangent, quite exhilarating .