Gongyla - a poem by Chris Zachariou

Sappho

I loved you in the passion

of the summer months

yet the kiss of March

still danced in your eyes.

You smiled; I was beguiled.

Desire swelled inside me

and fever burned my loins.

Each day under cerulean skies
we swam in the whispers of the sea.

Waves were rushing to the shore

to secret coves and fair sand dunes

and I was consumed by madness.

I bathed you in myrrh,

I caressed your auburn hair

and kissed the longing in your eyes.

My hands quivered.
My knees weakened.

My body shook with lust.

I removed your lacy garments

and loved you with the lust of one in haste

then lingered on your thighs all my life.

I was insane

by the allure of innocence

and hunger for your youth.

In exquisite nights of summer
our flesh became one

and nothing was forbidden
in our quest for pleasure.

But I lost you in the autumn winds.

Your gown lies orphaned in my bed

and it fills my world with sadness.

The cold November days are looming

and from beyond the misty mountains

the mournful River Acheron beckons me to go.