~AFTER LUCIUS APULEIUS~
/ / Author's note: The gods above and the gods below are a reference to Apuleius' book "The Golden Ass". When he was made an initiate of Isis he said: "I drew near to the confines of death, treading the very threshold of Proserpine. I was borne through all the elements and returned to earth again. At the dead of night, I saw the sun shining brightly. I approached all the gods above and the gods below and worshipped them face to face." That is as much as he could tell because it was a secret tradition.
That was the inspiration for this poem. / /

I feel the winds scream through my head,
I feel the fire rip through my veins,
Shimmering madness breathes through me,
And the Gods speak to my soul.

My heart is thorn-filled and in pain,
My body drags down to the soil
And spirit like a soaring bird
Departs to know the pulsing Sun.

Enraptured in the world above I lie,
And waves beat through my brain
And beaming light pierces my eyes
To show the Gods of the world above.

In silent-whispering, aching night
The Gods below sing shadows into life,
And while the dew flowers my face
They commune within my soul.

I have gone through the doors of the Sun
And into blackest Night-dreams,
I have met the Gods above me,
And seen the Gods below,

The elements yet speak to me
With a knowledge from the Divine
And waking world shines with new beauty:
Divine breath of the maddened vision.