Cupid and Psyche Retold in Rhyme

Once long ago in a far away land
sat a castle near the sand.
In that castle lived a king
and a pretty queen who could sing.

They had three beautiful daughters
with many courtiers.
The youngest had none,
not even one.

She had emerald green eyes, golden hair,
skin so clear, and beauty so fair.
Her beauty was a legend both far and near.
She was worshipped as a goddess here.

Psyche was her name.
Her beauty was such fame,
it was her they came to see
instead of worshipping at the temple of Aphrodite.

Aphrodite was a goddess,
more than human, but sometimes less.
The lack of attendance to her
made her fury cold and burr.

By this time,
Aphrodite was as bitter as a lime.
She sought a way
to make the girl no longer seen by night or day.

Down from the sky came her now grown son.
Because of her beauty, he was her not her only child, but he was her most favored one.
She told him her problem at once.
It weighed on her mind like 10,000 tons.

“Listen to me dear beloved mother,
I will do what I can to eliminate this bother.”
So he took to flight
and flew out of sight.

He went to the castle to kill the princess so fair,
but fell in love with the girl as she lay there.
He reached for an arrow of the dead,
but slipped and cut his finger on an arrow of love instead.

In that moment he made a choice,
this would cause him, Cupid, to rejoice.
Psyche would be his wife
until the end of her life.

A message came to the king from the oracle of Delphi the next night
The king had asked what do about his unwed daughter and oh what a sight.
The oracle said that Psyche must journey to a place
to marry a man of a monstrous race.
The family wept.
The sorrowful party that night was kept.
She prepared to leave,
her life seemed like it was pouring out of her as if she were a sieve.

Over hill and down valley
and never toward her end did she hurry or dally.
Eventually, she came to a palace house,
not a soul to be seen, not even a mouse.

Music so sweet assailed her ears
as she wept silent tears.
As the day went by she was treated well,
then the scary night fell.

She went to sleep in a soft bed
but awoke to a hand touching her head.
A strong, smooth skinned man
was the owner of that hand.

“Never look upon me, this I command,”
was what he said as he took hold of her hand.
“I will be gone by day and with you by night
because you must not look upon me by the light.”

“I am your husband,
you will obey my demand.”
This was said
as she shook her head.

She lived on fine food and wine,
but of visible life, there was no sign.
She felt so alone,
she invited her family to visit because it had been so long since she had gone.

Her sisters came and asked where the servants were,
but Psyche couldn’t say as she sat on a soft fir.
She told them her situation,
they gave her a solution.

“Take a lamp and place it where it is unseen.
keep a knife to kill him clean.
Do the killing if he is a monster,
so you can come home and he will no longer stir.”

She thought her sisters always right,
so she saw to this task despite her fright.
While her husband slept,
she went to where the lamp was kept.

She lifted the lamp above her head.
Her heart was filled with much dread.
He was an extremely beautiful man
as he lay upon the divan.

He had wings of pure white feathers
like the wings of young zephyrs.
A drop of oil leaked from the lamp,
and he awoke with a start, as if he had a leg cramp.

He said, “Your rightful husband, Cupid, you have defied.”
This he could not abide.
He took off into the night
in an agitated flight.

She tried to call him back,
but Cupid had disappeared into the black.
She sank back down on the bed.
With heavy heart this is what she said:

“In this day I have done
that which taught me a horrible lesson.
On my life I swear
I shall rectify my err.”

Without a sound, not even a good bye,
she left the palace pretending to cry.
Then she went further
to begin her journey beyond meadow and briar.

She traveled of hill and stream.
Very far did it seem.
She traveled even further,
further than anyone ever.

One day she came upon a temple,
the sight she saw was pitiful.
There were grains scattered everywhere,
and no one looking to the temple’s welfare.

Psyche took to cleaning
for she felt no temple should look so demeaning.
“How sweet,” said a voice behind her.
“Oh my,” said Psyche, for it was Demeter.

“Oh I beg you, help me please,”
begged a tired Psyche.
“Never, you angered Aphrodite.
Leave here now, or I’ll call down my soldiers who are mighty.”

Later she came to another place,
it was a temple so she quickened her pace.
It was really no surprise,
there she learned she was Aphrodite’s prize.

Without a place of refuge
and feeling like a stooge,
Psyche went to the temple of Aphrodite.
Poor Psyche was scared by the sight.

Venus was still jealous
so she set her slaves to be torturous.
The slaves, pain and agony,
did all the work, you see.

A babe did Psyche carry,
which made Aphrodite all the more angry.
This made Aphrodite think up more cunning punishment
to end her bedevilment.

Psyche was led to a huge pile of seeds
to separate by nightfall for her misdeeds.
This made Psyche listless and bitter
but a bunch of ants finished the job for her.

“You had help, you cheat.”
So Aphrodite had poor Psyche beat.
Then Psyche went to bed
with pain in her heart and her head.

“Fetch me a tuft of wool from the flock golden sheep,”
Aphrodite said as she interrupted Psyche’s sleep.
Going to the river near the sheep to drown was Psyche’s intension,
but the river reeds were bent on prevention.

They said “Do not go to the sheep by day.
Those sheep, by day, are crazy they say.
Wait until they sleep when it is cool,
then collect the tufts on the bushes near the pool.”

And so Psyche did
just as she was bid.
Then an even angrier Aphrodite sent her to the top
of a mountain to collect water drop by drop.

Suicide on her mind,
she set off to find
the river’s source.
Why? To finish her task, of course.

An eagle came along and said to Psyche,
“Are you silly?
The gods fear this river for it is the river Styx.
Give me your bottle and I’ll have the water in a quick fix.”

Her completion of this task sent Aphrodite into a might rage
and one last task she sought to gauge.
So Psyche was sent into Hades to see Persephone
to collect a box of the goddess’s beauty.

Psyche knew this to be a death sentence.
Because of everything, Psyche longed to no longer be substance.
So down to Hades Psyche went
and her visit was an adventure, but not a torment.

She got what she needed
but she looked inside when she wanted.
Opening the box of beauty,
out sprang a could that made her sleepy.

It was a cloud of sleeping death.
She had barely any breath.
That is how Cupid found
his beloved laying on the ground.

“Awaken my little dear.
There is still work for you here.
No time for talk,
finish your walk.”

And away he flew
to Mt Olympus to tell what was true.
To tell of Psyche
as his wife he truly wanted her to be.

By Zeus’ command,
in a party that was grand,
Psyche became immortal.
As always, of the gods Psyche was mindful.

Finally, in a proper ceremony
were wed Cupid and Psyche.
She wore a skillfully made dress
that hid the earlier transgress.

What a sight to see!
Cupid and Psyche’s baby
was a cute little mischief maker.
They named the little girl Pleasure.

There were more kids you know
always leaving their parents on the go.
There was Desire, Ecstasy, and Joy
who helped mom and dad with every girl and boy.

And now I am sorry,
this is the end of my story.
The end of my tale from Greco-roman lore,
and there is no more.