Preposterous Eros
Preposterous Eros
by Michael R. Burch
“Preposterous Eros” – Patricia Falanga
Preposterous Eros shot me in
the buttocks, with a Devilish grin,
spent all my money in a rush
then left my heart effete pink mush.
These are poems about Eros, the Greek god of erotic love, lust, passion and desire. Eros was the equivalent of the Roman love god Cupid.
Sappho, fragment 42
translation by Michael R. Burch
Eros harrows my heart:
wild winds whipping desolate mountains
uprooting oaks.
I hate Eros! Why does that gargantuan God dart my heart, rather than wild beasts? What can a God think to gain by inflaming a man? What trophies can he hope to win with my head?
?Alcaeus of Messene, translation by Michael R. Burch
Have mercy, dear Phoebus, drawer of the bow, for were you not also wounded by love’s streaking arrows?
?Claudianus, translation by Michael R. Burch
Matchmaker Love, if you can’t set a couple equally aflame, why not snuff out your torch?
?Rufinus, translation by Michael R. Burch
I have armed myself with wisdom against Love;
he cannot defeat me in single combat.
I, a mere mortal, have withstood a God!
But if he enlists the aid of Bacchus,
what hope do I have against the two of them?
?Rufinus, translation by Michael R. Burch
Bacchus was the God of wine, partying and drunkenness.
Love, if you aim your arrows at both of us impartially, you’re a God, but if you favor one over the other, you’re the Devil!
?Rufinus, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Either put an end to lust, Eros, or else insist on reciprocity: abolish desire or heighten it.
?Lucilius or Polemo of Pontus, translation by Michael R. Burch
Steady your bow, Cypris, and at your leisure select a likelier target ... for I am too full of arrows to take another wound.
?Archias, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Cypris was another name for Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Here the poet may be suggesting, “Like mother, like son.”
Little Love, lay my heart waste;
empty your quiver into me;
leave not an arrow unshot!
Slay me with your cruel shafts,
but when you’d shoot someone else,
you’ll find yourself out of ammo!
?Archias, translation by Michael R. Burch
You say I should flee from Love, but it’s hopeless!
How can a man on foot escape from a winged creature with unerring accuracy?
?Archias, translation by Michael R. Burch
Keywords/Tags: Love, Passion, Desire, Lust, Eros, Cupid, Cypris, Aphrodite, Phoebus Apollo, Bacchus, Love Hurts, Romance, Romantic Love
Copyright ©
Michael Burch
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