Emily Bulicz-Arnelien

Venus of Willendorf

or, the archetype of the mother goddess. You,
buttery in your stone body. You,
Virgo rising—whole in your own right,
not for the gaze of men: You, your breasts, your hips,
your buttocks. Your largeness, your largess,
open-hearted self depiction, oh certainly
you are the artist: a cluster of seven thousand galaxies,
of nine hundred generations. Your voluptuous
stomach rolls—wheat fields moved by summer wind
You knew your face in puddles, in the smile of
your grandmother. She draped you in furs
You conquered the knife

*CW: Infant Abandonment*

Pastoral in Vantablack

This elvish hollow, these valerian-hops
for stewing beer, larding river fish
The long summer ferment

Like pointed ears, sharpened canines,
teeth marks in birch bark, carved
combination runes of forest fae lovers

Under starlight, the mountain trolls—
carefully, carefully—milk sturdy goats,
join the dark elf feasting, the potluck

supper of barley pancakes, currant jam,
the sacrifices, now dancing
children in hazelnut groves,

deformed and wild, gathering seabird eggs
Feral like happy cats, these children of night,
gifted to hollow trees, dark goddess, deep forest

Cradled by mama moon, her lunar eclipse curves,
ancient grandmotherly devotion, babies raised
six-fingered, bow-legged, cleft-lipped suckling

cloudberry wine like forest floor, wet wool,
river rock. Flowing to fjords, salt air, sharp beach,
the bare-breasted mermaids, their calamitous song

Warships and fishermen, their offerings to the deep
sea beasts sheltered from thunderstorms
Seashell troves and lusty cod, their salted roe,

sweet lobsters. The scrying smoke at sundown
Reindeer fawns called to slumber,
black-furred like children of the moon

Emily Bulicz-Arnelien is an emerging writer based in Ontario. Her published works, including poetry and fiction, have been published in Contemporary Verse 2, Tidewise Illustrated Quarterly, and Venus Hour. She is a current MFA in Fiction student at the University of King's College. Read about her literary work at emilybuliczarnelien.com.