in some sphere of the cosmos
two gods are embroiled
in a bitter debate
shouting thundering epithets
and flashing weapons
in the dark of the night
eager to slice at
the heavy fabric
of the sky
but their threats
are empty,
and a rush of hot tears,
a lavish rain,
tempers their rage
and my companion,
a frightened little garden snake,
waits out the storm with me
from the safety of
my windowsill
shivering together
in our temporary eden
as divine footsteps
fade away
Author’s Note:
This week’s offering is a short, myth-touched nature poem about a real-life moment I experienced while watching a night storm come through. As a thunderstorm raged on overhead, wind and sideways rain raking over the empty street, I saw a little garden snake making its way into my open garage from my garden, seeking refuge inside from the storm. We stayed there together for a while, watching the rain fall, united in our shared experience and taking in one another’s silent company. Though this poem is a personal one, set in the modern day, it features many echoes of the mythologies I’ve been researching and writing about in recent weeks. I’ve been delving more into Biblical imagery and related stories lately (wanting to explore concepts around Lilith, but more on that later). There was a particular line in Genesis that formed a central pillar of inspiration for today’s poem, one describing God walking through the Garden of Eden: “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8) That imagery of a personified deity having such a physical presence in the natural world really stood out me, as well as the countless Greek myths that feature Zeus and other gods making their presences known so prominently and tangibly among humans. As I watched the storm myself, I couldn’t help but imagine that the snake and I were witnessing the interactions of great gods in the sky, gods who could walk among us in the wind and on the rain, and this poem was born out of this experience. I find it inspiring to imagine that we could be in the presence of beings so powerful that they can shape our world through transforming the weather and beyond.
