Night of the Goddess

Flames from numerous lamps flicker, refusing to die Like shimmering flakes of gold adorning the night sky Burn on, shine bright – shed some cheer in my tired life Illumine with your light, let peace reign in place of strife Let joy return to eyes which have often cried Cleanse the grime and the tears which have dried Enrich the lives of those deprived Bring love to those denied After dusk, when darkness descends Envelopes the earth and light it fends Shaking loose her long and dark tresses In a moonless night is worshipped Kali, the goddess Awesome in form and terrifying to the uninitiated For, with blood is this four-armed deity sated Blood of evil doers and demons Naked save a necklace and a girdle of bones A penitent tongue protruding out of her red stained lips Frozen in mid-stride, while blood from her mouth drips In this form she is known to us Worshipped alike by the pious and scalawags She was a creation of years of yearning By the righteous and pious to rid the world of suffering At the hands of demons and devils sowing evil seeds Causing untold misery by their never ending misdeeds She arrived eventually and with a vengeance Destroyed and killed with a view to cleanse Retribution she dealt, and struck fear in the heart Wiping out evil doers from the face of the earth Driven to frenzy and covered in gore The heavens too trembled, knowing she was capable of more The gods were shaken and help they sought From Shiva, the blue necked god, her divine consort On earth, Shiva laid supine, waiting on her path And she stepped on him unknowingly – thus the penitent tongue and the end of the blood bath