Smile Aphrodite

So for the past two or three days I have been trying to locate this magnificent poem I read in a book either shortly after Bean was born or around the time we moved to Florida. I can’t exactly remember when it was, all I know is that it was a critical time in my life and the words of this particular poem just sort of leaped off the page, grabbed me by the shoulders and shouted, “Listen here young lass!” So I did. Unfortunately that’s all I did. I failed to write down the words or even memorize any of those life-defining lines I so crave to read again. The English translation of the poem is called “Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name” by a Sami poet named Marry A. Somby.

The title is enough to make me nostalgic, pulling me right back to that moment in time. I can feel the tug of the words lulling me into a kind of merciful depth but I can’t remember any of the words or even really the content of the poem, only the feeling it gave me. My strange selfish memory allows me to recall sensations but rarely details.

So instead of obsessing about this poem for yet another day I thought I’d share my own, in honor of National Poetry Month. It’s somewhat of a coming of age poem, I guess. I wrote it this morning over breakfast because somehow in the midst of shredded wheat and pomegranate tea, I came of age. Not really, but I have been doing some spiritual branching over the past few weeks and this is sort of a marker of my growth. A Soul University progress report, if you will.

Smile Aphrodite

Rise sullen angel, your fortress awaits

Over valleys that sneer;

 A most charmed kind of place.

Relax bitter maiden, king is far from his throne,

He’s sweeping the floors

In Burberry cologne.

Smile Aphrodite! Raise a toast to the past.

But you’ll taste bitter tannins

If you drink from the glass.

Take note sparrow bride or you’ll never be more

Than fingers crossed in your pocket

And one foot out the door