HOMEWARD
I shall come home
From this forest of bony branches
Where centipedes crawl into waterholes
To end their looming gloom.
I shall come home
From this room tainted in black
Where gecko swallows my prayer of freedom
And spiders web my daunting dreams.
I shall come home
From this forest of bony branches
Where centipedes crawl into waterholes
To end their looming gloom.
I shall come home
From this room tainted in black
Where gecko swallows my prayer of freedom
And spiders web my daunting dreams.
I shall come home
To your waiting arms, Aduke
To wash the night off bloodshed
That rages down from wailing cloud-stead.
I shall come home, tonight
With fainting breath-failing strength
To die at your heart; a vacant slate of destiny
Till I wake in the warmth of your palms.
Baba Yaga -- Ivan Bilibin
Aduke is a girl's name that means "much beloved" in Yoruba.
ReplyDeleteBaba Yaga is a figure in Russian fairytales who lives in a forest and may help or hinder people she encounters.