For the Nice Guy

You have found her — Aphrodite
She fills your desert to the brim
A sea is formed within, for her
You’d do anything.

Cast your nets out every dawn
To fish for what she desires
She’s in the distance, perfect; lithe
In your loins she ignites a fire.

Hoist the sails on your boat
As the currents bring you closer
I have mapped constellations for us, you scream
I will give you what you require.

But she does not see your wayward boat
Nor the abundance of your sacrifice
To her your offerings are but a
Sprinkling of rain upon a precipice.

Days and months of drifting lead you
Nowhere near her heart
You realise that your sea is just
A sea of unrequited love.

You seethe, you writhe, you toss your waves
Working up a tempest
It is simply unfair for you to love
While she remains untouched in the slightest.

But if you put down your telescope, you will find
She is not your Aphrodite
You have spent so long at sea that
You forgot where the land is.

If you continue on this sea, you will
Drain it dry with your parched fantasy
But if you disembark from this futile trip
Maybe, just maybe

She will be waiting for you on an island.