A Holy Ravaging by Samantha Szumloz

Mother Mary does not come to me 

as a blue-veiled queen with a serpent underfoot. 

She does not appear to me with clasped hands 

between her breasts, or stars over her head. 

She does not whisper heavenly commands, 

or leave prints on the cloaks in my closet. 

She manifests as a tucked-away imagining 

of a girl with bloody thighs, a crying baby, 

and a chapped mouth on a thundercloud, 

mimicking a passing dream of Galilee 

before covenants, 

angels, stables, 

and donkeys 

made her womb immaculate 

for the world to crawl into.

Samantha Szumloz (she/her) is a poet, fiction writer, and Disney College Program participant holding a Bachelor’s in Writing Arts from Rowan University. Her creative writing has been published in Rawhead Journal, Blue Marble Review, MORIA, Moonstone Press, Villain Era Lit, and more. To reach Sam, her Instagram is @poemsbysammsy.