Venus Rising, by Ann Marie Steele

Venus Anadiomena, by Armando Menocal (Cuba) 1904

Venus Rising
​
Emerging eagerly
from the sea,
iridescent skin glistening,
fair face upturned
to the sun,
nourishing her senses
with radiant warmth
 
Bright eyes wide
peeking down alluringly--
as her lover, Adonis,
heralds her ascent with the
bellow of his conch,
adoring cherubs at her feet,
gazing up — longingly
at her, goddess-turned-flesh
 
Lush air
caressing her rosy cheeks
her cherry lips pursed
in a half-kiss,
captivating all her admirers’ hearts
 
She is Venus --
 
Rising
from the passion
brewing beneath
the icy ocean depths --
limbs lithe, reserve resolute,
carelessly gliding in on bubbling seafoam
atop her ivory-shelled throne
 
And as the sea-mist
invigorates her bare body
and the currents cascade
like the golden curls
spiraling between her fingertips,
flowing and silky,
she vows--
 
to swim the sea
live in sunshine and
drink wild air*
 
so long as she’s of this earthly divine
 
And as the swell of the sea
awakens her quickening current
relishing delight --
and her waves of passion,
now crest --
channeling
trysts with gods
and goddesses alike
 
leisurely undulating
to the ebb and flow
of her desire,
her ocean now ecstatic,
she gazes to the horizon
where the sky grazes a salty sea
 
She is Venus Anadiomena --
Rising.
 
Ann Marie Steele

​This poem first appeared on Medium.

Ann Marie Steele, who resides in Charlotte, NC, America, is a writer who dabs in poetry, essays,  and short stories. She holds a BS in Journalism (News-Editorial), and an MA in Secondary  English Education. Ann Marie pens pieces about love and loss, and what she observes and  experiences. The loss of her youngest son, Brandon, has influenced much of her writing. Her  poetry has been described as “resiliently defiant.”  Ann Marie has been published in The Ekphrastic Review with her pieces, “Every Lilly Donned  with Grief” and “I Dare You, Pretty Please.” When not teaching high school English, Ann Marie  enjoys partner acrobatics, where she can often be seen flying upside down.