Oh, My Temptress

Leopold Severin, Oh, My Temptress, from the 1968 album Venus in Food.

Oh, My Temptress,
Can’t you see what you’re doing to me,
the way you wield those womanly wiles?
You come into my house like you came just for me,
then leave me alone with the ghost of your smile.

You show me how you pound the flesh and handle the heat,
you pour goblets of wine without shame.
You are Venus enthroned, and Dionysus obeys,
and somehow I’m the one set aflame.

Oh, Sweet Temptress,
with a bounty I never can touch.
Oh, cruel display of carnal delights,
don’t you know I’m made out of flesh just as much?

Oh, Wanton Temptress,
you answer the general need.
Is it greed that makes me want every last taste
and resent every mouth that you feed?

You radiate heat through the chasm between us,
a sanctuary I cannot breach.
Only I long for the boundary undone,
for the altar just out of my reach.

I ache with each blow as you soften the flesh,
I yearn for the bite of your whip.
When you knead, every need in my body awakes,
and I burn at the strength of your grip.

You stand at the counter. When our eyes lock,
you act like you know that I’m there.
You make me witness the joy that you feel,
while I must take mine alone in despair.

Oh, Wicked Temptress,
with a bounty I never can touch.
The world gets an open invitation to dine,
and God, is it asking too much?

You circle your realm through the dark of the room,
a boundary I dare not defy.
You tilt your head back as you pour out the red
and hold off my thirst with an eye.

One step from the flame, one step from the feast,
you freeze every move that I make.
You grant me a place at the rim of your realm,
just close enough for the ache.

Oh, Generous Temptress,
you spread your abundance around,
while I sit here parched for the mercy you show
to everyone else by the pound.

I watch you reign over the blood and the fire,
untouched by the damage you do.
You give every stranger a seat at your table
and keep me from coming to you.

Oh, Merciless Temptress,
you generous, merciless thing.
You feed every appetite under the sun
and leave mine alone with its sting.

Oh, Cruel Temptress,
I know you were never for me.
Is it so greedy to want for myself
what you gave to the world so freely?