Song of the Psyche

Shall I tell a tale of love and of jealousy

And of how a mortal found her own destiny

Born a maiden of luminous beauty

And revealed she was a flower so heavenly

But by this admiration I'm doomed you see

The smite of a goddess upon me

Now I'm sent to wed one of dragon-breed

Oh dear Venus I meant no impiety

And so the girl was left alone on a mountaintop

Until with gentle breath Zephyr she to a palace brought

For the fates have dained not Venus's wishes wrought

But instead that those famed arrows would share her heart

We had happiness there but in secrecy

In darkness we loved without need to see

But convinced to unveil his identity

Great winds, betrayed, flew fast away from me

And so she wondered on the land searching far and wide

While he lay sequestered by his indignant mother's side

She prepared to face the implications of her desire

Approached the gates where Habit seized her and made her cry

Oh trouble and sorrow please leave me be

Has your mistress no heart to bid me clemency

I love her most sweetly and fervently

'Tis only of this I am guilty

Then the goddess drug her to a disordered heap of seeds

Commanding before night the sorting task must be complete

The mess of lentils, corn and barley and poppy seeds

Did loom impossible to weary and worn Psyche

I stand overwhelmed with humility

But hark underfoot, earthborn you pity me

Oh nimble nurselings rush to my need

Dear brothers and sisters of humanity

Took each grain by grain

Made piles of the same

The light of nature came to me

Oh Myrmidons oh gentle beasts

I asked you not, still you saved me

Such diligence grant me this lesson teach

Now consciousness have I to keep

But not enough this single victory

Bid she was impossibilities

To collect the golden fleece

The waters from the cruellest peak

And the beauty of Persephone

These three more tasks completed she

Afraid she was but never weak

Then when cast in Stygian sleep

Love flew and roused her from the deep

Oh counsel above, oh Jupiter

You welcome me into your theatre

With this golden goblet of ambrosia

I'll cherish the lessons I've learned from the

Tower and greenery

And the royal bird's great beak

The ants who rescued me

Yes it takes strength to receive