VENUS AND ADONIS

Adonis strays far from the other hunters
seeking the boar in a remoter part of the forest.
Entering a clearing, he pauses to listen,
hearing not the grunting of the prey
but a voice like the wind in the trees
calling him across the field to a spot
where he spies a shady opening.
Peering in, he hears a sound like splashing water
beckoning him to enter, drawing him ever closer.
Inside it is dark as the rain is dark,
quiet as a mountain is quiet, with a heavy stillness.
A stream trickles and the leaves rustle.
Adonis thinks he hears the strumming of a lyre.
With his eyes he sees almost nothing for a time,
then a form appears, flame-like,
a radiance shimmering between shadows —
a sudden lightness bursts into the shady grove,
aflutter like a giant white swan.
All at once he sees dark golden hair,
elongated rose-white neck and arms,
eyes coming at him like the hunter's arrows.
Her hands toss rose petals over him;
moving closer, she rubs his temples with ambrosia.
"I have been by your side, Adonis,
through the woods and across the rocky places