Late Love

Are you the Aphrodite of the Greek tales Or the Artemis who admirers drooling sent? No, for Aphrodite had her little flaws And Artemis the fortunes of Orion bent. Nor are you the stunning star that the Magi led. For the over-told story of the Magi is as old as dirt But your drowsy rounded eyes look so cunning fresh; The kind of tools that the will men pervert. The famous Ishtar cannot be your match For she lured with looks in order to kill; And Inanna may have tried to rival you a bit Had she not given in to Dumuzi’s antique skill. And tired of prating about deities, I now must say I love you. I know that time is so much gone, and so is my chance; The remote luck I thought I stood some years gone Must now be as extinct as the Pyrenean Ibex of ancient France. Nosy bird says you vowed holy nuptials yesteryear, Iron twines that a luck-loving man must never sever. Yet can I ever lose you without losing all breath,too? Do I toy with the time-oiled vice that damns forever?