Their fingers slide

along marble flesh,

reading the curves of Cupid

as his lips release love

from divine sleep. Psyche,

chiseled awake, stares at his face.

Curiosity drove her to light once, and still

burns here, as small hands touch

muscle from sternum to mastoid,

studying the sculpture.

They tremble over her chest,

linger, trace her twisting neck,

the pulseless carotid, shadowing Cupid’s

stone hand on her cheek.

The boys pause at her lips before

alighting on her eyes

with their cold shine.

Eavesdropping on their French,

I’m unsure where to stand.

I circle the class to

watch the blushing boys brush

the intertwined lovers

quickened in story and frozen

in stone. Their teacher describes

Cupid’s feathered wings,

beyond their grasp.

Maybe the boys already know the lovers best:

flowing into the marble,

hoping some god seeks

them to overcome

sight with touch.

“Psyche Revived by the Kiss of Love” by Antonio Canova (Photo: Jean-Pol Grandmont via Wikimedia Commons, public domain).