The Girl of Earth

Half-poem and half-short-story, 'The Girl of Earth' is rhythmical and elegant.

Her eyes were a film of misty green, like fog rolling off the woodland mountains, yet they were still lustrous enough to signal a ship home. She was taller than most women, with hips that swayed alongside the wind, but she always managed to sell herself short, to compress herself into something less than what she was.
Other women envied her silver-blonde hair, that hung straight as sleet down her back, and she would self-consciously flip it over her slender shoulder, always oblivious of her own extravagance, always missing her lungs’ own sunsets and sunrises. Breathing in the sun, exhaling out the clouds.
Even from standing across the calm waters of a lake, you could tell her skin was smooth. Men wanted to touch her, tenderly. They wanted to teach her that if you look hard enough, you will find true love in nature.
She was a sight to behold, like a butterfly breaking free from its coccoon, or a bee taking pollen from a flower. Why couldn’t the emerald-eyed, silver-haired beauty see it for herself? Why couldn’t she feel the dirt making its home underneath the stones of her fingernails? Why couldn’t she taste the sky on her tongue or feel the heartbeat of life beneath her skin?
It always pained me that she couldn’t see she was as fresh as rain, as strong and air-supplying as the trees around us, as soft as the moss growing on the forest floor. I wanted to look at her and I wanted to say, ‘You are the Earth, all the pieces of you. Every pore and every atom is a pocket of life on your body, and your voice gives me oxygen to breathe.
'Open those eyes, your morning dew irises, as green as a leaf in the sheet of brume. Look down at the pond's reflection; your tears are made from these waters, your body was birthed from these hills. Much like this beauteous and enchanting Earth, I want to explore every crevice of your body. Just like this tenacious and hearty planet, I have carved out a home in you.'

Reviews

[Of This Earth]

Wow. Very spot-on imagery and unique adjective/noun combos. Also, great story/poem. The subtle and repeating link to trees and the color of her eyes- it made a good weaving of nature and the person.

[Stephanie Binding]

Thank-you very much! I am glad you liked it!