Her beauty was entrancing, her features, classically cut,
Yet, modest her demeanor,
He loved her …
He wanted to live his life with her and love her ‘till the end of his days…
Unknowingly, he cursed them both…
Proclaiming her beauty more grand than Aphrodite’s
Aphrodite heard his insolence
The mere mortal, foolish and daring!
His punishment would be severe
And last until the gods grew weary!
The spell was not like any other
Even the gods, their eyebrows raised
She aged the beauty by one hundred years
Eagerly, she would take pleasure in his slowly, crumbling heart
Yet even a goddess could not always know
The commitment of a true love
Unrelenting, for years, he would not leave her side…
Caring for her…entreating the great Olympian god
Zeus listened to his pleading
This mortal with only one careless affront
Somehow he would placate the jealous Aphrodite
And watch the joy overflow from the mortal’s heart
He sent Hermes with a message:
“Entreat Aphrodite, the beautiful one…”
He gathered his thoughts and reached out to the goddess
Renouncing the claim of many years past
Aphrodite listened with reluctance
Even she was moved by the suppliant one
Time had alleviated the goddess’s jealousy
With a brief statement she righted the wrong:
“Leave now, one-hundred years, you’ve fulfilled your duty
The lesson has been learned
Transform the hag into breathtaking beauty
Let them rejoice in the summer sun”
That night he dreamed …
He saw her, dazzling, with vigor and youth
This dream he so much wanted to live …
He felt a gentle prodding pulling him from the dream
Opening his eyes she was there, smiling
He sat up entranced, hesitating …
He touched her face, now, more radiant than the golden sun
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