When I Still Had My Arms

Long ago, when I still had my arms,
I was a goddess.
Beauty and love were my domain.
Mortals prayed to me, Aphrodite,
painted me in bright colors,
adorned me in jewels.
I stood in gymnasium,
gazing at naked males,
arousing them with my beauty.

Today I’m crippled.
I reside in a fair —
it’s called museum.
My jewels are gone,
my colors have faded away.
Crowds surround me,
but for them I’m no goddess —
just art,
a notorious marble sculpture.
In this foreign land
they call me Venus de Milo.

If only I still had my arms...
With my left I’d throw
an apple I used to hold
into the midst of the mob;
with my right I’d pull my drapery
up to my shoulders
and walk away
while they stared at me,
turned into statues.