inspired by Ann Allen Shockley’s novel, Loving Her
At the temple of Sappho take your wine,
Hot and humid,
Like that served at the temple of Hera,
Though the fires are more likely to be lit,
And it is said more souls come to pray.
Take your wine,
At the temple of Sappho,
Stare at the mirrors hanging from the ceiling,
That call all her faithful to shake and move,
To a song so long ago lost.
To take your wine at the temple of Sappho,
How terrible a gift,
To seek out that barren and rocky stock of land,
Not marked on many a map,
So find your own path there,
Swim through that dark red wine sea,
Pay the harpies who patrol the beaches in whatever way they will.
Taking your wine at the temple of Sappho,
And hearing people of the polis cry out,
“Oh woe for they have forsaken the temple of Hera,
Who will now tend the flower beds?
Who will now do the unsaid work happening down below,
Who will now care for knaves so lost on that glorious mountain,
And what of the unpaid labour of performing nursery rhymes?”
You take your wine at the temple of Sappho,
So you now rejoice and cheer, laughing and raucous,
For you are here,
After that path, so lonely and cold,
Or so warm and bustling you couldn’t move.
Whatever your journey,
Know that we accept you as you come,
So lie down,
And take your wine,
At the temple of Sappho.
Featured image, Victory of Faith (1891) by Saint George Hare, held in the public domain via Wikimedia.
