overpowers not just
and unjust human beings
only, but animals
too—and even the breath of
gods trembles, shakes, stops, bursts,
when Eros wings into them,
even from far away,
at their culmination. Great
Zeus Himself retreats some-
times from the overthrowing
comeliness of mortal
bodies. He Himself is far
too weak—even He!—to
ward off Eros. Even He
wants, more than anything,
anything, just to give in.
–Sophocles (5th century BCE)
from RenditionsFind more by Reginald Gibbons at the library
Copyright © 2021 Reginald Gibbons
Used with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of Four Way Books.