Evidentia

THE TEMPLE OF LOVE
By George Tombs

You loved me in the temple of love,
Among stunted columns and broken goddesses
Sitting upright like a V on a slab,
Barefoot, your blouse unbuttoned,
You offered your eyes, your kisses, your warm breasts,
The swallows sweep through the blue grove.

You said that love came suddenly
Like a flash of blue lightning, a raging wave that swept us along.
Love was powerful, love was true, love was now.
Love would transform everything, drive away boredom, fill the night
With wonderful cries, sighs, the mingling of our sweat
A little butterfly lingers along the road.

You spoke about the Birth of Venus
A slim goddess floating above the waves,
With her long blond tresses, free as the wind
An ideal woman with a melancholy smile. You wanted to be
Like her, impassive, soothing, adored by one and all.
I could always count the ripples at her feet.

You said everything, promised everything, but your love has vanished
As suddenly as it appeared.
The blue lightning has been swallowed up by the clouds,
The temple of our love has become your shame, your prison
A story best forgotten.
But in the blue grove, the crickets still sing at noon.