Stellana Erickson—Women’s History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month, Atlantis is publishing artists and writers who identify as women. Introducing Stellana Erickson.

Rings Last For Eternity

The Pharaoh drips with jewelry like rain,
They slide rings through their fingers,
Glowing puddles of color
To ward off evil
And ward off the poor,
Make no mistake,
The ring curls into a never ending loop,
Like the memory of the Pharaoh
Tucked away in a tomb,
But never gone, never dead,
And always bright

The ring sinks into every oikos of Greece,
First the rich,
But trickles down to the free,
Everyone claims a little circle of eternity,
Every reaching, greedy finger,
Every calloused thumb,
Yet only few can conjure them
Into glowing puddles of color,
And only few are buried heavy enough
To drown under the weight of gold

Rings become the beating heart
Of the Romans and Chinese,
Slammed smooth from stone
Or some slippery yellow gold,
Love in solid form and longing gazes
Both glowing puddles of color,
And everyone wants the ring of forever love,
And everyone wants it to drown them,
But to only a few, it will.

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Stellana Erickson is a BFA Candidate at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She loves reading and writing historical fiction, especially if it's eerie. Check out her self-published novel Starlet on Amazon!