Two Poems on Cupid and Psyche, by F.F. Teague

Cupid and Psyche, by Fortunino Matania (Italy) before 1963

Cupid and Psyche

I light a lamp to know the truth
and see... a God! I drop my knife
and gape at all the gold in view,
the gleaming wings. I'm Cupid's wife!
The Pythia had split her lips
with screams of what awaited me:
A Dragon Lover! But your kiss,
your touch, your moves, felt heavenly
until I doubted. You must know,
my sisters urged. I tremble, spill
a drop of wax. You wake and groan
and glare. Your anger holds me still
and silent, shamed, inside our room,
our baby fluttering in my womb.

**

Cupid and Psyche

When Psyche lights a lamp for truth
and sees the God, she drops the knife
and gapes at all the gold in view.
She has one thought: I'm Cupid's wife!

The Pythia's lips had split with screams
of Dragon Lover! But Psyche's fright
had ebbed within her lover's arms;
her lips enjoyed him night by night.

The dark had concealed a golden boy,
as gentle as his mother's doves;
but might, as well, a serpent's coils
and forking tongue have roused to love?

The unborn wriggles in her womb
as Cupid glares across the room.

F.F. Teague
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F.F. Teague (Fliss) is a copyeditor/copywriter by day and a poet/composer come nightfall. She lives in Pittville, a suburb of Cheltenham (UK). Her poetry features regularly in the Spotlight of The HyperTexts; she has also been published by The Mighty, Snakeskin, The Ekphrastic Review, and a local Morris dancing group. Other interests include art, film, and photography.