Valentine’s Day Musing

This month, as we celebrate Valentine ‘s Day, I have decided to stray from my usual format and share a short poem I wrote, inspired by “Pilgrimage to the Island of Cythera,” a painting by Antoine Watteau, displayed in the  Louvre Museum. 

 According to Greek mythology, Cythera was the birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of Love.

 The following poem is an excerpt from a gathering of thoughts and observations I had while strolling through museums. I love to look at paintings and let my mind drift away.

Pilgrimage to the Island of Cythera - Antoine Watteau - Louvre Museum

Cupids Frolic

by Liliane Fortna

The ethereal world of the Island of Love

offers voluptuous moments to anyone who dares

to drift afloat to its exotic shores

Inhabited by Cupids armed with bows

and arrows whose tips

were dipped into a sweet nectar.

They greet the newcomers by aiming at their hearts,

instilling through their veins

a sap that heightens their senses.

Among the soft alcoves of lush vegetation

and the sweet music of sighs of ecstasy,

the lovers can explore with carnal pleasure,

the delight of the flesh and let their passion

grow, ebb and flow, and explode,

under the amused eyes of the little Cupids.