Why the Goddess Weeps

Why the Goddess Weeps

Scarce need has the wise man to wonder,
For she is lonely. Many in her temple
Worship other gods while calling her name:

“Saturn!” “Nemesis!” “Laverna!” “Janus!”
“Clementia!” “Poena!” “Plutus!” “Pan!”
Even her prophets worship, first, Nike.

Scarce need has the wise man to wonder,
For she is betrayed. Those who would behold
Her beauty, beg her to reveal herself.

She knows, should she grant this awful request,
They will recoil when they see her true face:
Beautiful and terrible, like Medusa.

Scarce need has the wise man to wonder,
For she is repelled. Her blindfold hides not
The wealth and station of her supplicants.

No, she wears it that she will not refrain
From staying her sword when it is needed,
That she sees not the glee of those who gain.

Scarce need has the wise man to wonder,
for she is frustrated, obliged as she is,
To act through those who know her but dimly.

Cursed by the Fates for all eternity
To find that the artists who attain the means
To paint her portrait, seek not her visage.

Burt Likko is the pseudonym of an attorney in Southern California. His interests include Constitutional law with a special interest in law relating to the concept of separation of church and state, cooking, good wine, and bad science fiction movies. Follow his sporadic Tweets at @burtlikko, and his Flipboard at Burt Likko.