Venus of Willendorf by Unknown
Each stipple inutile for others touch,
To the hands of stone journeyed the water,
Predetermined to man, ne’er for more,
To give spawn, as they call youth, but as years
Bear, paleness tholes, wise fruits ferment to wine,
Sentient of the intolerable load,
As the bird grasps below, the chicks leap.
Startling the eye, held in high repute,
The beauty in Her each gouge and indent,
To limit her sinful, yet is she more?
Lord Justice, what are we to worship her?
Only in passing or in eternity?
As she still stands, still held, are we the man
Who takes her meaning withdrawn from her hand?
Venus of Willendorf was one of the first sculptures to be carved in about 24,000 B.C.E. It’s very simple, it’s of a woman’s body and it has basic features and the most intricate part is of what may either be hair or a headpiece on the woman’s head. The reason I chose to write about her is because of her symbolism. It can’t be pinpointed exactly, but looking at other art pieces and taking history into consideration, her symbolism is of fertility. Fertile women tended to be worshiped, but are still held in the regard of being there for a man to use, which begs the question of if even worshiped women are free. I chose to break this poem into two stanzas of different perspectives. The first is of the woman carving herself and the second is the viewer over time. The reason I did this was to create more of an understanding of the meaning; what it could mean to her and what it may mean to us. Although we don’t have a clear answer, we can assume her view if she was the artist. It is important for us to understand her perspective and appreciate the progress to where society views gender roles today.