Venus and Mars lay shackled to the bed.
Caught, in their amorous love-play,
by that deformed, old cuckold, Vulcan.
Whom, had fastened invisible fetters
to each of the four corners of their concupiscent haven.
(The old dungeon master!)
The gods all come to laugh:
“Naughty, naughty!” and
“Is that Mars I see retreating from the field of battle?”
and other such jests, all in good fun.
Jupiter with perhaps just a touch more than sympathy
in his watering eyes.
Vulcan is enraged, to be sure,
but is that all?
How long did he lurk there, in the shadows,
before the trap was sprung?
The shame and humiliation washing over him:
gazing upon the two lovers irreparably entwined—
immaculate in their reciprocal beauty.
What strange, unspeakable flame
aroused itself in that malformed god of fire?
Devouring their carnal fervor
like some perverted fantasy come alive—
the scenario pre-arranged all the while
by dedicated wife, voyeuristic husband.
Oh yes, tears shall pour tonight, to be sure,
but from what fount shall they spring?
Reconciliation will come
and reparations be made—
Venus on her knees, repentant.
“You’ve been a bad girl.”
“Yes, Master.”
Both knowing that the cycle will repeat itself,
ad infinitum.
I, for one, need no Vulcan iron
to make me a prisoner of your bed.
For you have been and will always be
my one true Goddess of Love.
Nevertheless, if, on those nights when I come,
spear in hand, looking to conquer,
you find yourself aflamed
by the thought of some jealous god
in the shadows…
my dear, you are the sovereign of your own mind.
For, when we are bound in sinful abandon,
the fire of our love burns away all impurities,
a transmutation of the soul.
And, whether through ordeal or delight,
we unite in the alchemy of our love.
Art by Alexandre Charles Guillemot
Devon Gallant is the outlaw poet of four collections of poetry: The Day After (Cactus Press 2006), the flower dress and other lines (Cactus Press 2009), His Inner Season (Cactus Press 2012), and most recently S(tars) & M(agnets) (Cactus Press 2015) which bill bissett called ‘a mirakul uv a book.’ He is currently working on his fifth collection of poetry entitled Bootleg Saké which blends eroticism, Dark Romanticism, Japonism, and Kinbaku. Concurrently to this project, he is also working on a sixth collection of poetry entitled Playtime, in reference to Jacques Tati’s 1967 film, which explores topics of Decadence, freedom of expression, individuality, hedonism, and play which acts as a companion piece to Bootleg Saké. His work has been previously published in Vallum, Carousel, Misunderstandings Magazine, Bitterzoet Magazine and elsewhere. He is the publisher of Cactus Press and the host of Accent, a Montreal based reading series.
