“Statue of a Woman”
sculptor unknown
who questions if you
are a woman? it exists in far
more than your body your clothes
your sandals. the strong hip and marble
fingers are not what make you a
woman I could give you a pedicure but
you’d still be headless heedless losing your
grip (or releasing your hold) on something in
your left hand is it a recipe or your
son’s ashes. I stand tiptoed to look you in the
eye trying to replace what is missing with my
own face of fears but am I always doing that
filling in the blanks and blanking out
always missing like your lost sculptor?
you are a woman because the muses spoke
it into existence molded you from
the same goo as David a better
draft pulled from His ribcage.
Mariah Ghant (she/her) is a Black woman artist based out of Philly. An alumnus of Vassar College, she studied Drama and English focusing on Acting and Poetry Writing. Mariah’s work has been featured in three print publications with Z Publishing, as well as online with Distance Yearning, Lucky Jefferson, and Passengers Journal. In her everyday life, Mariah enjoys creating and teaching art across various genres including theatre, writing, dance, and movement. Forever fantasizing on the phenomenal, Mariah’s writing explores relationships, identity, and the cosmos. To see more of her work, you can visit her poetry Instagram @mariah.g.poetry.