Veiled in silence,
O thinnest only bridal gown,
you suffuse my body
with your body.
Black as granulated
diamonds
dancing inside me,
moving like a serpent
who has just shed her skin,
you are this very breath.
Whoever said your Kali-form
was terrible
has not really seen you,
or fallen victim to your
love-honed
sword-wings.
Catastrophe of grace,
you burn
and tear the wedding
garment.
Your name means,
“Ruthless
Lightning
in the Hollow of My Spine.”
Your name means,
“She Who Takes No Captives.”
But
who among the living
knows
your true
name?
I pray in the language of the egg
where nothing has yet been born.
Let my flesh grow still as Shiva
that the night inside me
might comprehend your radiance.
Let my blood ferment into the wine
of Christ’s desire,
that
I might murmur,
“Miryam, Miryam.”
Icon of Mary Magdalene by Lentz, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
