she stands emptied her pallor bare to the world
speckled and blemished and seemingly open
the other half gone to the bottom of the sea
its energy subsumed within her opalescent belly
the soft flesh the muscular foot the valve opening only to close
the world has left its grime on her fleshiness
hematomas well up beneath her pellucid skin greens and blues and then magentas swell
all the colors of sea foam wreathe her breasts
somewhere long away from time’s wrath like Aphrodite absconded from the world she flees the bite of sun and harm of wind
she averts her gaze and leaves nothing behind
just a single shell to mark her own virgin birth
modest she looks quietly at what creation offers and arranges its abundant gifts about her beauty
soft flesh a muscular foot a valve opening only to close
Aphrodite, Sandro Boteccili
(Go to Birth of Aphrodite #2 and #3)
It’s a pleasure to be included in the Return to Mago!
We are honored and pleased as well. Blessings and joy for the Valentine week!
I love this donna…thanks for sharing the link…you have told a marvelous story from a very original perspective….”soft flesh a muscular foot a valve opening only to close”….I absolutely love it!…
thank you, Gene.
Aphrodite absconded ….I like this poem, Donna
really wonderful
An ekphrastic poem of nonetheless extraordinary origin, the poet’s uncanny imagination, the 1st stanza prepares the reader for anything & everything, even “soft flesh a muscular foot a valve opening only to close” (repeated!). But what could prepare us for the final stanza, in its choate strangeness, in particular, the perfect paradox of “modest she looks quietly at what creation offers and arranges its abundant gifts about her beauty” which we must believe because the poet authoratatively says it is so?
Thank you so much for reading my poem and taking time to comment. I cherish your words deep inside my spirit.