I stand beside Venus,

Alone and feeling exposed.

I wandered from Rome, for there was none to make a fuss,

I passed many village beauties, yet none turned or looked.

 

I thought that I felt love,

But I see the feeling was much too weak.

I saw you exit the ocean, as I stood above,

But I felt little, for I thought you would also leave me as I continue to seek.

 

Yet You joined me on my journey to Cnidus.

I told you not of my search for Aphrodite,

And my eyes could not see that you were Venus.

As I walked your companionship left me feeling less lonely.

 

My willingness to continue the search slowly faded,

With each step I took with you.

As I began to think that we could be more, my interest in Cnidus dissipated.

At every stop I dallied with you, until we had to bid the town adieu.

 

When we stopped in the city of Thespiae I did not wish to leave,

For as I stood by you I confronted an undeniable fact, I felt a love for you that would last forever.

The search for Aphrodite was a thing I no longer did crave,

You were not what I thought I wanted, you were better.

 

Together in Thespiae my eyes finally saw you as Venus,

And your full beauty I began to uncover, before you all other “Beauties” look like pale imitators.

For you I chose to wear a Myrtle wreath,

and you, dear Venus, I choose to love.

 

By the wall in the shadow we sit beneath,

I tell you that there is a solid base my love sits above.

For My emotions are always changing,

But this choice overrides my fickle feelings.

 

By my side I stand with you and your hand I am holding,

And together we return to Rome.

Our fingers are interlocked, thinking only of each other,

I think, “to be with you is to be home”.

 

To Rome we finally enter, Venus and a mortal together.