Phosphorus and Hesperus
(after a painting by Evelyn De Morgan, 1881, at the De Morgan Centre, Guildford, Surrey, England) for Brian and Patrick (this poem lost a contest for ekphastic poetry that cost me 3.5 British pounds to enter.)
Two young men
Sit on a beach enjoying the twilight
Phosphorus is going to sleep
From a hard day as the morning star
Hesperus is rising to brighten the evening
Their arms intertwined as lovers might
Hold each other tenderly
They are naked and not afraid of it
Anyone who sees them should not
Take notice or offense
For love is no offense
We sympathize because one
Starts the day and the other
Starts the evening
They live opposed
Yet find time to enjoy the twilight
With the gentle moment seen
In this painting by Evelyn De Morgan
She understood the love of young men
Giving it a platform to be seen
That hangs on a wall
We all know love is not something
That hangs on a wall
Will they play in the surf
Seaweed enrobing their manhood
Foam on their lips
They enjoy a sky love light
That doesn't exist on cloudy nights
Stars are so lonely that they
Gather in faraway clusters
Each with a different color shift
Reflecting their souls in chemicals
To the uneducated in searches
They do wet themselves in shallows
With sand that becomes a gritty shot
Of thrills for lovers on bare feet
It lives always both night and day
Phosphorus is the evening star
Hesperus is the morning star
Leave it to the Greeks to give
These lovers their names
Based upon what is seen in the sky
We do not judge them for their love
And those who do are probably from Troy
Phosphorus has gone to sleep
Just as Hesperus will
After the work is done
Their love spills over Troy’s walls
That will come down forever
Just as forever these two
With love
give light
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