Venus, by Joseph Lezza

Venus de Milo (Milos) c. 150-125 BCE. photo by Shawn Lipowski (Shawnlipowski), CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Venus

Aphroditi tis Milou,
Goddess of Louvre and beauty.
Marble eyes. Marble thighs.
Gifts loudly coveted
and quietly despised. 
Are you happy up there?
This perpetual show.
Blink once for yes, blink
twice for no.
 
Curve V, Swerve V.
Are you there?
Can you hear?
Or, did Antioch carve
blocks of wax in your ear?
The guard isn’t watching.
Dispense with contrition.
Do you sense
you’re not worth 
the price of admission?
 
Heaven sakes, Heavy de.
Why the snub?
The cold shoulder.
Might it be you
expected someone
centuries older?
The man with the hands
to release you, unblocked.  
The same one 
who guessed you, 
undressed you, then walked.
 
Bare breasted. Bare chested.
Hard body. Smooth frame.
You limbless. Me himless.
Two pieces. Same game.
 
Between us and the walls,
one can see why you’re armless.
You were shorn by a lover
you thought to be harmless.
So, you twisted your spine
and refracted your gaze.
Quarried for shelter
in this great, granite maze.
 
Still, to take on this burden
yourself? A nonstarter.
Anguish calloused your flesh
yet it suffers no martyr.
You’ve no singular sorrow,
I’ve suffered man’s pains,
and felt my blood harden;
run quartz in my veins. 
 
But, this show’s run too long. 
Straighten up.
Can’t you see ‘em?
A thousand new suitors
walk this drafty museum.
 
Though, perhaps it’s indifference,
your ultimate crime.
For it is not love that unmade
you, but time.

 Joseph Lezza 

Joseph Lezza is a writer in New York, NY. Holding an MFA in creative writing from The University of Texas at El Paso, his work has been featured in, among others, Variant Literature, The Hopper, Stoneboat Literary Journal, West Trade Review, and Santa Fe Writers Project. His debut memoir in essays, I'm Never Fine, is due out February 2023 from Vine Leaves Press. When he’s not writing, he spends his time worrying about why he’s not writing. His website is www.josephlezza.com and you can find him on the socials @lezzdoothis.