Shiva Poem by John Libertus

I am Sakala Shiva, Father of Wounds,
Full-Moon Shiva, One with the Mother, I kill to save -

don't worry about it, it's gonna get better

I had no use for my knees,
I threw myself face down in the dirt, and begged

then I did what He said
and my light winked out
and a greater one rose


I am Niskala Shiva, you'll meet me
in some dark tunnel of hell, when the flame is gone from the candle;
if we meet in a narrow place, you'll die of the cold -

Niskala, Dark Moon, without the Mother;
shava, corpse-Shiva, the bearded tramp in the snow;
as the bloom gone, the stem dry and brittle,
I bend near breaking whenever the north wind blows -

this vessel will pass, but the will will go on, you will meet me forever
behind you, before you, within you, the thorns of the Rose