kali (iii)

you must be strong

cannot be soft

--to dance with Kali

for she is lush destruction

she is all curving

foothills, sharp and rolling

the thick smell of rot

hanging under

the trailing vines,

rising from

the dark

at the bottom of the cupboard

and within you too

she is fire

rolling thickly

on soft feet

and crackling richly

and the lightning

cracks,

over the velvet

emptiness of her eyes

cannot be wood

--she gnaws it

to pulp and splinters

nor earth

which she treads heavily

and water she devours

you must be steel

for she consumes the living

sharp in your head

and bright in your bones

flashing quickly

and she might roll

along your edges

and roll the fullness

of her lips,

and flash her teeth

bone-white and strong