Winged Victory of Samothrace. Marble. Hellenistic Greece. 190 B.C.E.

by Leah Wu

Look! Right there on the edge
of the horizon
I see her rising –
a tangled, windswept vision.
Waves lash her ankles raw
as she stands on the bow of a warship
stained with crimson.

Parian marble,
a cold dagger delicately gleaming
in the ruthless sun,
her triumphant wings spread
to catch the fallen
fanfare and flowers.
She reigns in silence,
draped in shattered grace.

Yet the rumors stir –
Her butchered, ragged neck!
Her mangled stump of a shoulder!
Absolutely breathtaking,
they whisper,
falling to her feet.

Absolutely breathtaking.