Venus- The Images of Perfection

Alexandre Cabanel, The Birth of Venus (1863)

They come to us mediated through the magazines and screens of all sizes
These angelic beings which represent a model of perfection
Far too unattainable for mere mortals to ever hope to attain
Whisked away from the natural world and placed out into the spotlight
Lifted up on stages and pedestals as unreachable objects of desire
These modern day representations of Venus yearning for love and devotion

By some miracle combination in the genetic lottery they emerge from among us
Emerging when fully formed out of the sea of humanity that they came from
Yet, their beauty caused them to be plucked from the waters and placed in the heavens
To be desired and worshipped by those below them and to cast ordinary women into despair

But their reigns are short. Only as long as they can sup the waters of the fountain of youth
Their beauty and their power do not last and as their bodies age their allure quickly perishes
And other beauties are lifted up to occupy the places vacated by their fallen predecessors
Their brief brush with immortality proves to be all too transient as time marches on
Some will hold on for a time longer by enhancing their beauty through surgical means
Others, assisted by the masters of the media, will use the digital tools to hide their flaws

But what comes up must always fall, and for these beautiful ones the fall from the heavens is hard
They are angels who long ago lost their wings and halos to feed the appetites of their devotees
For while love may be forever, lust quickly finds a new object to obsess upon
And broken images that once were perfection now litter the landscape

Venus, Ancient Rome bronze figurine