March is Women's History Month and at BAVPA, we celebrated our first Creative Writing Contest sponsored by Arts on the Wire and generous donations. The theme was Women's Past, Present and Future. Short story pieces needed to be under 1,000 words and poems needed to be under 40 lines. With a myriad of thoughtful and creative submissions, a winner was finally selected, our own Visual Arts senior, Isabella Lamberty.
Artist's note: As I got to brainstorming, I was interested in the idea of women in art, but in a literal sense. The women depicted in world-famous pieces. I pictured myself being the result of centuries of women's battles to be in history and to survive in a "man's world." I drafted for a long time until I was satisfied with the poem's structure.
I am Art
Once upon a time we walked on pre-paved roads
Betrothed in marriage and saved by a prince
Stitched in by the standards
I thought I'd dream for the masses
But I did not.
I dreamed for every little girl who couldn't, and still can't,
I am liberty leading the people
I am the birth of Venus
Rising from the water,
What am I if not a daughter?
And surely the world must know
That men have fought but women have fought longer
I have seen the words stained on the walls
Testaments burned into the ground beneath my feet
And I walked on it for years upon years
My arms never at rest, glance never dropped
What am I if not a woman?
I am the girl with the pearl earring
I am winged victory landing on the bow
Declaring triumphs one after the other
Who am I if not a mother?
I yelled for every woman who couldn't, and still can't,
I can no longer walk on your roads
I am Liberty,
I am Venus,
I am Nike
I am every woman who ever was and who ever will be;
Betrothed to my destiny
And to my dreams
I thought I'd crumble in a man's world
But I did not.