Aphrodite and I
We aren’t friends.
She is the mother who wants to shape me,
Who wants to put me into shapes
I do not want to be shaped by.
Aphrodite stands with the back to me
Flowing silk reach until the ground,
Shining hair artfully twirled up,
And over her bare shoulders I see them:
Couples created after her ideal —
Lovers in love —
And I catch a glimpse
Of the love I cannot understand.
Aphrodite despises me,
For I,
I do not understand her love.
And her son, Amor, hates me
For every arrow breaks against my heart.
So Amor sits on my shoulder, like a watchdog sent by her
When I walk hand in hand with my best friend
And press a goodbye kiss to her cheek
Or when I run my hand through another friend’s hair
And Amor asks: Not more?
When Aphrodite blessed us with love,
Hestia cradled me in her arms too long
Showed me a home and
told me I was complete.
When Aphrodite split our hearts in half,
Artemis took me in before Aphrodite could,
And taught me how to love
with my heart intact.
Aphrodite and I.
We arent friends.
She is a monument of human desires
Created from the ideal of a tangible fantasy
Which promises a solution to the
Insecurities of life.
Love like I want you to, she says
And you will be happy.
Love like I have taught you to, she says
And you will be healed.
I know that love cannot heal.
Love cannot make me feel less broken for
She is the voice that tries to convince me
That I am broken,
That I am incomplete
She is the chain that wraps around my neck,
Delicate and beautiful,
And strangles me
For daring to be different,
For daring to think I am complete on my own.
She is the monster
That sharpens her claws on my heart,
Hoping for it to crack
And to break in half but instead,
Her claws turn dull,
For I,
I am not a child Aphrodite’s.
I was born from the warmth of Hestia’s hearth,
And raised with the faith of Artemis’ virgins.
Aphrodite and I.
We aren’t friends.
For I,
I do not need her.
¯_( ಠ_ಠ)_/¯ 