she was
shell-shocked when her shell crashed
hard into the rocks and when the saline
water gushed through the fissures into her
eyes and caked her lids with salt

(and that’s why they say that
love is blind)

but she clutched her pearl tightly and
pressed it against her alabaster cheek
till blood pooled beneath her translucent skin
and made her blush

so you see, Botticelli was a liar.

Venus never emerged from her shell -
(she was going to drop the bomb on you first.)

a/n: Botticelli's Birth of Venus.