The Birth of Venus

By Meghan Lord

Shiny as a new, young pearl
She gracefully emerges with
A delicate shoulder graced by a curl

Cover up that porcelain skin!
Her admirers are watching
To draw them in would be a sin

This lovely sheath will shield their
Eyes grazing her youthful curves
Can’t stand to leave them bare

A glow of love that strong
Shant be left unattended
No need to string them along

Step off of her pedestal
Come into the wooded canopy
To shy away from the call

Humility is more respectable
Then allow her beauty to
Shimmer, bright and capable

She may not sprawl out
In all her glorious loveliness

Her presence is a gift
Meant to be left in its wrapping paper

I chose to write a poem inspired by Botichelli’s The Birth of Venus. The painting conveys Venus, the goddess of love and beauty as she is born out of sea foam on the shores of Greece. The content of the painting is a relatively straightforward and faithful depiction of the classic mythological story. In my poem, however, I focused on a more interpretive idea. My poem elaborates on the painting’s subject matter with a modern feminist lens. Something that has always stood out to me in viewing this piece, aside from the beauty of the subject, is the side characters. My interpretation is likely far from the artist’s intention, but I decided to create my own story out of what we can see. I chose to interpret her attendant providing her clothing, as an attempt to cover her beauty. My intention was to use the painting as a basis for the idea that women are often encouraged to hide their beauty, intelligence, and talent, and to make themselves smaller to be respected by society. Women are encouraged to be humble, quiet, and pure. The metaphor I included at the end emphasizes this point by presenting women as a gift or reward that must remain untouched to maintain value.