Psyche's Sister

I love C.S. Lewis. I mean, I know he's all Christian and stuff, but if you can see beyond the allegory, he has a brilliance for story. My favourite work of his is a book called Till We Have Faces, which is a re-telling of the Psyche/Eros myth. This song was inspired by that book's point of view, of Psyche's sister, who loved her.

I want the refrain of "arrows and arrows..." to be sung by three voices in canon, and I'm considering having it continue as counterpoint to the soloist (probably soprano) during the verses. Instrumentation: viola, cello, string bass, english horn, oboe, horn, guitar, soprano (soloist), alto, tenor, bass.

In Complaint Against the Gods

Why must holy places be dark places?
The air is sweeter away from holiness
Everything's dark about the gods
They hint and hover and draw near in dreams
Become your lover but restrict your means
If he loves you, he will let you see!
You cannot look upon him without light
Since he only comes to you in the night
You cannot see face to face
And this, this is supposed to be grace!

Arrows, and arrows, and arrows, and arrows. And eros. And arrows.

Psyche, Psyche, my only love.
I am a great queen.
I have killed a man
To leave your home
To lose a love
To bear a child
These are all deaths--
But to lose you was the worst, the worst!

Arrows, and arrows, and arrows, and arrows. And eros. And arrows.

And I thought that anything might be true
But I would not, could not, let him have you
I had nothing in the world to love but you
My heart is food for the gods!
Food the gods must have
Even when the land starves

Arrows, and arrows, and arrows, and arrows. And eros. And arrows.

Aphrodite, Aphrodite
Bitch, lover, goddess almighty
You pulled yourself from the sea like the waves
(Then denied us love and took us as slaves)

Arrows, and arrows, and arrows, and arrows. And eros. And arrows.

And all I can do is say I am sorry
Is sort seeds, herd sheep, lose sleep
I am also Psyche!
Mark the cruelty of the gods to men:
We love, and we lose love
And we love again

Arrows, and arrows, and arrows, and arrows, and arrows, and arrows and arrows and arrows and arrows and arrows and arrows...