If Eros Had Wings, Psyche Has Her Two Feet On The Ground Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

If Eros had wings, Psyche has her two feet on the ground
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
I am convinced that I am God's masterpiece creation
As was Mona Lisa, the famous painter, Leonardo Da Vinci's
If I break out into a brilliant smile in these happy times
Mona Lisa has a wistful smile
And she is celebrated for the lifelikeness of her quiet beauty
As I am for my radiant beauty and sensuousness;

I would like to narrate the everyday platitudes
In the romance between me and my husband
And the place of love and affection my son holds in our hearts
But literature refuses to glorify the commonplace but does dwell on it
Although art does record the acts of everyday life if it does not have graphic sexual detail;

I would like to be celebrated as a sensuous Molly Shoichet or a Yulin Cheng with a child or a younger Jane Phillips
All of whom are celebrated professors who have engineering degrees
But academia dictates that I possess a Ph.D in chem/biochem/biomed eng.
OR I could be rewarded for my efforts and endeavours in science and engineering
Like the Nobel Prize winning physicist, an engineering version of Donna Strickland
But there is a tiny snag for one has to be nominated by one's work force
And sheer force of will and force of work will not get one ahead;

I stopped longing for Eros with his wings which would whisk him away after we had enjoyed
The blissful aftermath of love and romance
For I am Psyche with her two feet on the ground
And if love speaks to the soul in me, it says treasure what you have
For the seeds of love planted and nurtured from a long time
Continue to bear fruit and flowers;

I wonder in passing if I can beat the odds in a certain way against me
For I receive beautiful promises which have largely remained unfulfilled ground
And I can't tell if I have to dig up the ground and plant the seeds of more work
Or draw attention to the flowering plants and fruit bearing trees;

I grew up with the philosophy that to achieve one must excel in academia and work
And PM Justin Trudeau who has a degree in liberal arts and an exemplary career in high school education as a teacher
Has exhibited success partially contradictory to this philosophy
And the Prime Minister, sharing Jesus Christ's birthday, shares also the religious leader's views;

The Vancouver Sun says Jesus was not status quo and I say that he was not happy with the existing situation
As I read, he turned the established order upside down, de-emphasizing hierarchy
Instead of promoting "family values, " he was single and asked followers to leave behind their families
And I say, maybe, God desired such loyalty at that time
Or this is partially the Jewish faith which is distorting religious history;

If history is responsible for similis and metaphors, it is also responsible for paradoxes
And Jesus Christ's faith promotes paradoxes also
As does PM Justin Trudeau's who is an ardent feminist leader
Who has led the battle for also cleaner air, cleaner water for indigenous people in their reservations
And cleaner politics for politics has a notorious reputation for laying the blame at the door of the unsuspecting doer
And sometimes, it hits the bull's eye but at other times, it is out of line;

The metaphor is that in some ways, Canada is Utopia,
With its smiling, happy people who strive to make it even better
And the simili is that Canada today is like the beautiful landscapes that the Group of Seven made
With its unspoiled wealth of existence
And the paradox, PM Justin Trudeau, is that you have not rewarded
A hardworking and talented individual like me
As you promised you would.