The woman with two souls
and one body. The woman riding
a stampede of seahorses. The snake
princess who charms with sexy
gyrations. Body of a spider, head
of a girl. The girl tattooed with leaving.
The woman who contorts herself
into a pretzel. The woman who shape-shifts
in an effort to please. The mental marvel.
The woman who stands on a jutting rock
and does not throw herself
into the sea. The marvelous woman who
bleeds. The marvelous woman who never
conceives. The girl whose fantasies
chase her into the arms of a tree. The woman
without a ladder. The horned girl.
The three-breasted woman. The woman
with wings. The two-headed lady. The lady-
in-waiting. The hollow girl hollering.
The indestructible woman with a hard heart
of gold. The woman who charges
like a bull. The woman who dissolves into
salt. The woman who pours herself
into a mold. The woman who shapes
a meaningful life. The Queen
of Hearts. Crown of Medusa, udders
of a cow. Woman who birthed one
two-faced desire. Woman who can read
your mind. The woman who makes
her eyes grin so you know she is
smiling under her mask.
The woman tired of smiling.
The woman who sweeps the floor.
The invincible, see-through
woman. The ecstatic woman.
The compliant woman. Our Lady
Whose Hips Spin You Like a Top.
The mermaid whose tail splits
like a forked tongue. The slithering
blue woman. The roaring blues
woman. Daughter of water and fire.
She who dances gracefully.
Copyright © 2025 by Ama Codjoe. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on June 2, 2025, by the Academy of American Poets.
