MASTERPIECE #2800

/// Paris came upon Helen (ere Troy),
guided by a well-armed wing-ed boy.
Venus birthed his pursuit,
setting up their “meet cute,”
which would bring Helen’s husband no joy.

/// ‘Twas “The Judgement of Paris,” that’s how
these two lovers-to-be would meet now.
Jove picked Paris to choose
who would win, who would lose,
and on Venus the prize he’d endow.

/// With morality did Paris grapple?
Venus bribed him to win that Gold Apple.
Sparta’s Queen was his own
once the contest was thrown.
Never mind Helen’s vows in the chapel.

/// Paris set aside honor and duty,
haunted by her ethereal beauty.
Helen’s face had more grace
than the rest of her race,
(and he hadn’t yet witnessed her booty.)

/// He next, (helped by the goddess), seduced
the fair Helen and, in time, induced
her to sail off to Troy
which would greatly annoy
all the Greeks. Trojan War was unloosed.

/// Fair Helen, it seems, was at heart a
romantic, not suited for Sparta.
As a Princess in Troy
with her handsome boy-toy,
vicious decade-long war they did start, a.

/// Waging war for an unfaithful wife?
A poor reason for such loss of life.
Of that, don’t be frightened.
We’re now more enlightened.
Oil and worship cause most of our strife.

/// Paris, Cupid, and Venus and Helen;
are the figures on whom we’ve been dwellin.’
But others, (more central),
are not incidental
to the passion the humans both fell in.

/// Next to Venus are two feathered coo-ers.
(These white doves might be missed by most viewers.)
The birds symbolize things
like pure love borne on wings,
and they taste great when roasted on skewers.