A Goddess and the Sunset

By Bud Koenemund

For Lindsay

(Photograph by Meshi - 2019)

The photograph shows radiance frozen

In time; a Goddess – like some Greek statue –

Contemplates sunset. Beauty in repose;

Veiled in twilight, her skin lit by subdued

Flame married to shadow as day and night

Meet. Aphrodite is reawakened;

A being celestial, burning bright

With fire only the stars can transcend.

Nature and Lady find harmony;

Their graces uniting to inspire art:

The image affords immortality,

While I tender verses writ from my heart.

   Muse; though these words are mine, thine is the praise;

   For ‘tis thy charm that sets my pen ablaze.

Extant

By Bud Koenemund

For "Her."

Exalting grace is a poet’s duty –

Offering words of praise to birth legend.

History abounds with these deeds; beauty

Glorified; in art forever blazoned.

‘Tis said Helen’s face launched a thousand ships;

That Juliet’s bright cheek would shame the stars,

And Aphrodite’s excellence eclipsed

All – ‘gainst whom even porcelain was marred.

But, I protest your fair is fairer still;

Possessing somehow a charm unsurpassed.

While unseen, your mem’ry abides, and will

Endure though millennia have elapsed.

   Immortality is not mine to grant;

   Yet, this and thee live on in love extant.

If I Should Drink Thee to My Soul's Content

For "Her."

If I should drink thee to my soul's content,
I would drown in the sweetness of thy kiss;
Baptized anew by your intoxicant
Lips, I would dwell forever in that bliss.
I pray one taste to satisfy my thirst –
Though, in truth, a single touch will not sate
This yearning, but risk intemperance. Cursed
To desire more, I battle 'gainst fate.
By Aphrodite, I raise this appeal:
If passion be not poison, grant the death
We often reach by lust, and show thy zeal
With whispers of love floating on your breath.
   Thy Ambrosia has o'erwhelmed my spirit,
   But, in my weakness lies all the profit.