THE WINGED MOON
AMATERASU
Christopher Martin
A fine silk
suffused with a tremulous light
hangs over a doorless entrance
like a veil of tears.
It shimmers, softly, bowing
like breath
to nothing.
No-one can enter.
Behind the veil the innermost sanctum
of the Sun Goddess,
inspired within a small, sacred
mirror, reflecting
the dance of phenomena—
that which is
and is not.
Amaterasu…
In the threaded florescence of gossamer
and gardenia,
I am drunk on five syllables
skimming across duality in flames;
my flickering, fugitive reflection,
waving hello
and goodbye
in the burning of your name.
VEILED
Alfred K LaMotte
Veiled in silence,
O thinnest only bridal gown,
you suffuse my body with your body.
Black as granulated diamonds,
dancing inside me,
moving like a serpent
who has just shed her skin,
you are this very breath.
Whoever said your Kali-form
was terrible
has not really seen you,
or fallen victim to your
love-honed sword-wings.
Catastrophe of grace, you burn
and tear the wedding garment.
Your name means,
“Ruthless Lightning in the Hollow of My Spine.”
Your name means,
“She Who Takes No Captives.”
But who among the living
knows your true name?
I pray in the language of the egg,
where nothing has yet been born.
Let my flesh grow still as Shiva
that the night inside me
might comprehend your radiance.
Let my blood ferment into the wine
of Christ’s desire,
that I might murmur,
“Miryam, Miryam.”
ART SEER by Elise Wehle
Elise Wehle’s artwork has been exhibited across Europe and the United States. Notably, the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design showed her work, and the Guardian and the Observer featured her pieces in print and online. She continues to exhibit her work both nationally and internationally at art fairs and galleries. The unifying thread that runs through all her work is the interference of the image by geometric design. She currently lives in Orem, Utah with her husband and three children.
Christopher Martin is a Buddhist poet living by the Mouth of the Tyne on the North East coast of England. He is widely published in various publications, both in print and online. His debut collection is due out in 2025. @theblackcatpoetrypress.
Alfred K LaMotte is a mystic and poet from a village on the Salish Sea south of Seattle. He is the author of several collections of poetry. His most recent work, Strangers and Pilgrims, is out with St Julian Press. You can find him on https://yourradiance.blogspot.com/