feminine whiles

a poem i wrote this morning. a meditation of sorts on woman as i've come to understand the feminine.



"There is an ancient Egyptian saying that suggests that the divine power in woman is so strong that boys in some sense die from simply having experienced that power. 'We must die because we have known them.' [Rilke]" Robert Bly, the Maiden King


is woman truly so deadly
___to know her power
______is to die

is woman really so powerful
___too much power emanates
______from her moon cycle

is woman always cyclical
___darkness gives way to
______light

is woman necessarily darkness
___no but neither is she
______necessarily light

is woman essentially evil
____ no more than man
________--perhaps more than man

is woman ultimately redeemed
____yes, through her
________redemption born

is woman a thing of beauty
___no curve in nature so divine
______as her hips and breasts

is woman always seductress
____yes even when she behaves
_______which is rarely

is woman truly so deadly
____to know her power
_______is to die