SWWIM sustains and celebrates women poets by connecting creatives across generations and by curating a living archive of contemporary poetry, while solidifying Miami as a nexus for the literary arts.

Yemaya (or Grandmother)

she throws her hair like a fisherman throws a net—

the dark threads draping across her shoulder’s sweep—

a body, themselves. languishing. shimmering with sweat

or sun. the boredom of barnacles half-steeped

in salt. what was it they say about the meek

and inheritance? her dark skin’s glistening.

the fact of her in the surf. waves lapping her feet

like excited hound-tongues. she’s listening

to the gulls cat-calling. they all want her.

the wind’s grabby hands, pressing her skirts

to the round of her hips. challenge demure.

the world, one large sopera in which we hurt—

above, the abalone sliver of crescent could be her heel.

this, the beginning or end of the earth at which we kneel.


Lea Anderson holds an MFA in Poetry from The New School. She received honorable mention for Boulevard's 2017 Contest for Emerging Poets. Her poems and other writing have appeared in Jai Alai Magazine and Luna Luna.

After the Greeks Tippy-Toed out of a Horse

A Hole in My Heart the Size of a Postage Stamp