as a calla lily – 32 BC

I remember      I saw a woman like

a calla lily     draped in gold     I was a child

I hid behind the skirt of my mother

in a street shrouded        with people

I was a tigerfish swimming     through saltwater

I cried    there was a sandy sort of sun in my eyes

my mother told me to     hush      Told me that calla lily

was Cleopatra     that tigerfish      didn’t matter     I forgot

the fish     I said I want to be her     when I grow up she said

so do I       I continued to cry     the calla lily in my eyes

I am grown now      I think I am       I stand

before a man who is        grown       his mother’s

arm by my side      I wear a dress from flax

I ask if I look like a calla lily      my mother

is embarrassed       such an odd thing       to say

I wonder if they know     I think

about her      when I think about how

much they will pay for me     for my

housekeeping or for my

happiness

Violet Baker is a writer from New Jersey. Her work has been recognized by Scholastic Art & Writing, as well as published in her school’s on-campus literary magazine, The Red Wheelbarrow. Her one act plays have been performed at The Growing Stage State Theatre of New Jersey, Stageworks Theatre and The Traverse City Opera House. Her one act plays have also been selected as semi-finalists for The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival. Violet currently studies creative writing at Interlochen Arts Academy, located in Northern Michigan.