Preparing to Greet the Goddess
Do not think of her
unless you are prepared
to be driven to your limits,
to rush forth from yourself
like a ritual bowl overflowing
with sacramental wine.
Do not summon her image
unless you are ready to be blinded,
to stand in the flash
of a center exploding,
yourself shattering into the landscape,
wavering bits of bark and water.
Do not speak her name
until you have said good-bye
to all your familiar trinkets --
your mirrors, your bracelets,
your childhood adorations --
From now on you are nothing,
a ghost sighing at the window,
a voice singing under water.
~Dorothy Walters
Contemporary