George de Forest Brush, American
“There. I Played ‘Here Comes Peter Cottontail,’ As You Requested. Now Can I Have My Pants Back?,” 1890
Oil on panel
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/// Orpheus was so skilled with his lyre,
the charmed animals stopped to admire.
Even amorous rabbits
put aside carnal habits
to pay heed to a different desire.
/// This musician, we see, isn’t shy.
Rests his lyre on his firm naked thigh.
He displays here his loathing
for performing in clothing.
Good vibrations bring thrills to the guy.
/// The great love of his life had just died.
For Eurydice, Orpheus cried.
He shunned all other ladies
for his wife, trapped in Hades,
and decided death must be defied.
/// As he strummed, serenading those hares,
Orph beseeched all the gods with his prayers.
“Hades, I shall attack;
there’ll be no turning back.
I shall bring my bride up from ‘downstairs.’”
/// Greek myths tell how Orph botched his ”assault”
and how what happened next was his fault.
He’d been warned underground
he must not turn around,
much like Lot’s wife, the “pillar of salt.”
/// Sadly, Orpheus did turn to see
if behind him was Eurydice.
But that glance broke the spell;
she’s now fated to dwell
down in Hades and no longer free.
/// He composed all his songs like a bard.
As some rock stars do in that regard.
And when Orpheus played,
(with his body displayed),
those who heard and viewed shouted: “Rock hard!”