let there be light (26)

let there be light!

let there be light! the seeker cries
before the hoodwink leaves his eyes,
& thus doth he in awe behold
the goddess, the exquisite mold
of man; who tempts the would-be wise.

veiled isis sits beneath the skies
no less than nature in disguise;
& nature’s boon to grant, withhold?
her mysteries.

his inner sight to his surprise
beholds the light he seeks; that prize
bequeathed the pure in heart. the gold
reduced, the argent vive foretold –
her mysteries!


© Joseph McNair; 2009

veiled isis (25)

veiled isis

a lunar eclipse –

earth comes between moon & sun:

thus is isis veiled.

the mother goddess tween two pillars sits;
her priestess aspect manifest. she’s known
by many names. but here – & matching wits
& wiles with those who’d breach her guard – alone
blocks passage of cowans through wisdom’s gate
who fail her tests & trials. let dilettantes beware,
this one has raised the dead; revived her late
dismembered spouse & bore his child. have care!
unless u know a peace beyond torment;
are girded ‘gainst that which she surely brings –
yr past revealed in a single moment;
yr inmost sins & follies dredged –she springs,
a hungry sphinx, should u her queries fail.
her name is isis, wearer of the veil.

© Joseph McNair; 2009

a goddess did give birth upon a throne (25)

a goddess did give birth upon a throne

a goddess did give birth upon a throne
while leopards watched lest she deliver alone;
queen cybele, the mistress of the wild,
did whelp a comely boy, a handsome child
& loved him like a lover fully grown.

her son, sweet attis, thrived, his beauty shone,
an evening star, a jewel, a precious stone –
& midas’ perfect daughter did beguile
her troth, for better or for worse.

just as his marriage song was being sung,
the son beheld his mother; was undone.
he took a knife, unmanned himself & smiled;
a corpse & castrate died that hapless child.
she snatched him back from death, now hers alone,
in sooth, for better or for worse.

© Joseph McNair; 2009