Aphrodite Rising

Aphrodite Rising by Neil McCall

To enhance a honeymoon experience
the management provided
two Cypriot oranges with a leaf attached
and half a bottle of house red
in a basket next to the TV remote

I picture Aphrodite
rising from the Med
sashaying between the sunbeds
to kiss the marble and the tarmac,
doing brisk business with gym instructors
in the sacred Jacuzzi

whilst her clump-heeled
swarthy daughters
strip soiled sheets in whitewashed hotels
and dream of Adonis
hard and woody, dripping with myrrh.