Shells and seaweed 
clumps and sea grape leaves, 
stony coral, jelly palm fruit, fronds – 
who gathered these and why
pursue a form that would be razed 
by noon, by dog, by ball, by foot or wave 

or hand? Someone must have knelt 
for hours on the level, pre-light shore 
to make this toppled goddess 
with her calcium carbonate clavicle, 
seashell smile, still 

and unable to stretch or swim 
or rise or utter any words 
against or in defense of her creator.

Published June 15, 2025

Maya Bernstein’s writing has appeared in Allium, the Amethyst Review, On the Seawall, the Ekphrastic Review, Gashmius Magazine, The Lehrhaus, Niv Magazine, Pensive: A Global Journal of Spirituality and the Arts, SWIMM Every Day, Vita Poetica, and elsewhere. She is a graduate of the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College. Her first collection is There Is No Place Without You (Ben Yehuda Press, 2022). Maya serves on the board of Yetzirah: A Hearth for Jewish Poetry.

Louise Hindsgavl (b. 1973) graduated from Design School Kolding in 1999, where she studied at the Department of Ceramics and Glass. She is considered one of the most influential artists working with porcelain and ceramics in Denmark today.

In her subject matter she draws on mythology and fables as she delves into the unheimlich realms of human behaviour resulting in disquieting scenarios and monstrous creatures. Spanning from tiny figurines to large scale installations, the works come across as sometimes innocent and sometimes distinctly ominous – but always immensely attractive.

Louise Hindsgavl has exhibited widely in Denmark and abroad, and her works have entered into leading museum collections as well as been acquired by important art institutions, among them New Carlsberg Foundation, The Danish Arts Foundation, Victoria & Albert Museum in London, The National Museum of Sweden in Stockholm, and the MAD, NYC in USA. Among several prizes, she boasts The Prince Eugen Medal of “Artistic Excellence” awarded to her by the Swedish Royal Court in 2015.