Aphrodite Unmade
©May 24th, 2019
By Vijaya Sundaram
Out of the roiling, boiling
Churning, coiling, burning
Deeps, arises a simple
Creature, fully formed.
The ocean that caused her
To be, pulses in her ears,
And sea-flowers foam at her feet.
But there is no such thing
As a simple entity.
She is a composite.
She chooses simplicity.
She thinks any other choice
Would doom her.
But even as she chooses,
She hears the ocean
Pulsing in up ears.
Humming to herself,
Not listening, she stops up
Her ears with denial.
She is calcified, calm,
Created entirely from salt
And water, breathing in air.
This element hurts her.
The ocean pulses louder.
Okay, I give in, she shouts.
Seaweed and foam clasp at
Ankles and feet, as the water
Sucks at her toes, pulling at her.
Dissolving, unmade now,
She falls back into water
With barely a sign or splash
To mark her unbecoming.
The water closes over her hair.
She was never here.
__________________________________________