Tales of Brave Ulysses

You thought the leaden winter

would bring you down forever,

But you rode upon a steamer

to the violence of the sun.

And the colors of the sea blind

your eyes with trembling mermaids,

And you touch the distant beaches

with tales of brave Ulysses:

How his naked ears were tortured

by the sirens sweetly singing,

For the sparkling waves are calling

you to kiss their white laced lips.

And you see a girl's brown body

dancing through the turquoise,

And her footprints make you follow

where the sky loves the sea.

And when your fingers find her,

she drowns you in her body,

Carving deep blue ripples

in the tissues of your mind.

The tiny purple fishes run

laughing through your fingers,

And you want to take her

with you to the hard land of the winter.

Her name is Aphrodite

and she rides a crimson shell,

And you know you cannot leave

her for you touched the distant sands

With tales of brave Ulysses;

how his naked ears were tortured

By the sirens sweetly singing.

The tiny purple fishes run

lauging through your fingers,

And you want to take her with you

to the hard land of the winter.