[Editor: A poem by P. R. Stephensen. Published in The London Aphrodite, number one, August 1928.]
Seducer
You are religious?
— Well, if I say
The Immortal Gods
Walk on the wide earth still
And laugh with us
In our love’s play
On this sunny-grassed hill;
And wherever we go
In restaurants, cinemas, taxis, trams,
Our wishes unravelling
Wherever we are travelling;
The Immortal Gods
Smile at us
Cuddling on the top of a bus:
— Would you believe it is so?
Yes? No?
You are religious,
Then of course you believe
That They perceive
Us here, you and me;
And let me inform you that Aphrodite
Despises virginity
And She will protect us
With a Goddess’ cloaking
From bishops, rabbis, priests,
Mothers, fathers, and other beasts
Of pray croaking
That Love is a sin . . .
Priests hate your Beauty
When you are kist,
But the True Gods exist
They are smiling to us
Undo this pin.
They are smiling to us
In our sun-field of daisies . . .
You believe in the Gods?
To the Gods be all praises.
P. R. Stephensen
Source:
The London Aphrodite, number one, August 1928, pages 37-38
Editor’s notes:
Aphrodite = in Greek mythology, the goddess of beauty, fertility, and love; Aphrodite was also regarded as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring, and also as a goddess of war
kist = kissed (as distinct from “kist” meaning chest, especially one containing money or riches; or a basket, or coffin)
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