Bowed Craft
She told me I had a mouth shaped like Cupid’s bow.
If this were so, my tongue must then be the arrow
Of love, an author of the words that sing through the air
Striking the mark with a cupidous accuracy fair
Mirroring the effects of the artful Cupid himself.
If this serves to inspire, I suggest that it should not
For every word I have spoken, some Lovers long ago forgot.
If I could breathe an original thought, or pen deceit
True enough that all would oft repeat
Though it were the truth, as lovers often do,
but choose to ignore,
I would be greater than any Adonis or vain young god
Self-proclaimed in prolific conquests.
I would be prophetic, but that is not the shape of my mouth.
This poem was written by Orpheus . on Dec 22, 2007.
Responses
2 comments so far.
Free-style method to poetry, I like this - it is when many unique thoughts and best expressions are written.
This poem is about holding true. The mouth is symbolic for words, intimacy and the source of communicative relations. If we know of the power of life and death in the tongue, then we know how to control and manipulate others. For me, at least, we should always strive to be honest. I could lie and get my own way in the short term, but character is more important. We speak life into our own being by what we say to others. In lying to someone or manipulating them, I would be prophetic because it would come back to me. So my mouth, metaphorically, is not a bow nor is my tongue a wounding instrument, as Cupid's love arrows have been represented. My choice to be honest and boring, hypothetically, removes violence and deceit from my ethical lexicon. The problem is that many people do not think twice about lying to get their own way and may even use coercive techniques such as violence and emotional blackmail to do so. I hope the explanation of this message satisfies curiosity.