Lady of winds, said to have coupled with him
On some Mediterranean island
Where breezes are soft and the hopelessness of heartbreak
And abandonment
Can be discovered to be nothing but a gauze of mortality
Hiding the immortal nature of one
Whose consort is always reborn.

Did he mock mortality then, when he offered you
That which a mere mortal would not?
Does he laugh about the Cycle when he knows
The madness of his followers as they insure
That he knows death and birth, annually?
What said he, as he left to let your belly
Grow round and hard with the child of a god?

Dare I ask you,
Lady who's grown immortal by the nourishment
Of the wild winds
And the night dreams that fill you,
Body and soul,
Even as thunderclaps and pelting hail offer nourishment
To all that lives and dreams:

Was he good?
Did the Wind both warm and chill you?
Did the lightning flash within
To match the thunderclaps without?
Dare I ask
Without risking the wrath of the gods,
Even as I feel you answer, "yes."

Dare I dream of knowing,
Or better yet of asking
How it is one can become
Consort of a god
And not a mortal plaything,
Left to starve
As mortals leave other mortal souls behind.

2/26/00
 

Index     Seeking Silence