Ephemera (Buck)/Advice

by Mitchell Starrett Buck

ADVICE

Impatient, rosy child, if thou art weary of thy maidenhood, since no man loves thee, take thy youth to the son of Dionysos in the temple garden; and afterward, love where thou canst . . .

When thou art all a woman, thy cheeks will not flood with crimson when thou art spoken to: thou wilt not stammer and look toward the ground. Nor will the longing of thine eyes know fear.

Yet, love is both virgin and voluptuous to the desire of men. And when, in times to come, thy limbs are warm and bright, when even the burning ardor of the goddess is thy friend, thou wilt reveal a passionate semblance of maidenhood to set thy lovers' hearts aflame.