'Do not change the nomina barbara;'that is, the names handed down by the gods to each people have ineffable power in the initiation rites.Chaldean Oracles, Fragment 150, trans. Majercik, where it appears in context from Psellus Nisha Ramayya’s States of the Body Produced By Love is the best experimental poetry book I have read in a … Continue reading The Ineffable Power of Syllable and Sound
Instructions for Beginning
Look for the moon to steady youin ler variability — new to full to darkwhere you find lim, pause – stop – stop Cup your hands to receive that lightsay a prayer if you know a Godbut if you don’t, the quiet is enough Be attentive to your body’s breathwhether the summer has made ithumid … Continue reading Instructions for Beginning
Cutting Through Untruths
A poem that pushes back against certain misconceptions despite Socrates saying in the Protagoras that poetry is Not the Best Venue For That.
Every Goddess Is Good
“Prayer to All of the Gods I” was designed to incorporate deities whom I judged to be important to acknowledge overtly in prayer. The choices of Gods grew out of previous decisions that I made while writing Acts of Speech (availability info here), specifically for the poems addressing public speech, good conduct, and civility. There is … Continue reading Every Goddess Is Good
Praying to a God, Religious Identity, and Boundaries
Today, I finished reading Olympiodorus’ Gorgias commentary. One of the most striking things about the footnotes and the conversation in general is his attempt to sanitize Hellenic theology and Platonism in a way that is palatable to students on whom he relies for his livelihood in a culture that was now hostile to pagan teachers. While … Continue reading Praying to a God, Religious Identity, and Boundaries
Dionysiodotes
each press of char and bone against divine skin the pool of ash yet warm your hands seeking unity until they are caked in it gathering the remnants of body like single notes into harmonic one the light still shining down burning with the fire of spent worlds of planets singed by Titanic suns life destroyed, all destroyed save the heart unremitting you heal the melodies your lips … Continue reading Dionysiodotes
Blast from the Past — Happy Anthesteria 2020 (699.3)
This is a reblog from last year, and I'm sharing again because there was a climate-crisis-related Anthesteria poem in the post that you may enjoy. Of course, this year is snowier — but the climate crisis is here all the same. As a follow-up to what I said at the end about feeling sick last … Continue reading Blast from the Past — Happy Anthesteria 2020 (699.3)
Happy Anthesteria
The Anthesteria is one of my favorite ancient festivals. This year, the historical dates run from sundown tonight (the 22nd) through sundown on the 25th. May you experience all the joys and blessings of the season. Tonight is a good night to open a bottle of wine and make a generous sponde for Dionysos. Blessèd, … Continue reading Happy Anthesteria
Stillness, Tumult, and Links
On February 15, I drew the Greek Alphabet Oracle zeta (Ζ) for the week — flee the very great storm, lest you be disabled in some way. In previous years, I braced for something to happen because receiving this oracle (to recap: about what I needed to keep in mind to work towards aretē that … Continue reading Stillness, Tumult, and Links
