Sabrina Salvo
The Nativity
At her command,
Dawn shatters the night,
and a kaleidoscope of sunbeams
resurrect her laughter.
A strangeness they call unnatural,
she is heaven in primal flesh and
her heart reigns in fire,
creatrix of art-
Woman.
Solar flares burn her eyes into
gold, soft and steaming,
voluptuous with flame.
Her body is born of blades,
louder and sharper,
than rage and hate.
Her skin flicks gasoline like water,
leaving death and despair a smoky ruin.
Her smile bears molten teeth
that set men and their woman-chains ablaze.
Her voice is a willful roar,
a violent declaration of pride,
releasing all its blood and brains
down the flooded meadow-
Woman.
She is imperishable,
a trembling earthquake,
bruising the sky with dreams and songs,
ravenous in her power
and hungry in her love-
She is conquest.
Smoldering every tongue,
drying every tear,
destroying every darkness,
and illuminating the weak
with the summer in her voice.
…………..She is the lion amongst sheep,
………………………a goddess in the wild-
………………………………….Every woman.
_______________
Sabrina Salvo is a history graduate and poet rooted in southeast Pennsylvania. When not writing or visiting museums in her spare time, she can be found wandering through wooded hills on the hunt for portals, full of fae and/or tuxedo cats.
Author’s Notes and Backstory: The idea of women possessing a shred of the divine is primeval, one that has long existed and thrived within spiritual belief, but has since eroded over the centuries, particularly in the Western world. For that reason, I was inspired to write a sort of ode to the goddess figure, combining ancient symbols of power such as gold, the lion, and sunlight, with a sense of unrestrained benevolence. There is an undercurrent of violence within the imagery, yet “she” uses it as a means to uplift and bestow freedom rather than crush under her heels. The choice of the word for the title is a clear reference to the biblical scene, though in this work, the savior being born has taken on a different form.
Editor’s Comments and Image Citations: A kaleidoscope of a pretty woman (Rostyslav Savchyn/Unsplash) with abstract swirl patterns placed all around (vecteezy.com).
