Celebration
Share Article In a Hindu cremation ceremony on Bali in an archipelago surrounded by oceans where every day is a celebration I released Martha Ann. Blessed by her spirit.
Free form, free spirit in a free world,
Where will you finish your journey?
After rubbing you down with holy water, rice flour
turmeric, salt, vinegar, sandalwood
we put shards of mirrored glass on your eyes
pieces of steel on your teeth
a gold ring with a ruby on your mouth
jasmine flowers on your nostrils
iron nails on your four limbs
symbols of your perfect senses
reincarnation will bring you back
stronger, more perfect
wrapped in tight ceremonial fabric
we laid you on a straw mat tied to a bamboo platform
placed in a tower representing
the underworld, the visible world, the heavens
behind a rattan Black Bull beast
village women
balancing offerings of fruit,
rice, vegetables
led you through the village of Pedang Tagal
carriers laugh, sing, dance, spinning you
in circles to confuse spirit ghosts
crowds throw water on the ancient Bull
they cut the bull open at Monkey Forest
place you inside
Brahmin priest in black cuts
white binding string
pours water from clay pots inside
smashes them on the ground
sprinkles flowers, soil and family items inside
replaces the Black Bull’s back
final fire begins
you float to holy sky united to karmic force!
is it true this maya this illusion
this transformation this celebration
Her spirit dances beyond the great beyond. I spread her floating ashes on the sea.
Accept loss forever.
Grief is the origin of poetry
The Greeks knew the three most dangerous goddesses were the Fates called Moirai.
Homer called them “spinners of the thread of life.”
Clotho the birth goddess spins the thread of life.
Lachesis measures the length allocating the amount of time to each person.
Atropos cuts the thread.
Anyone resisting them faced Nemesis, Goddess of Justice.
Fates spin out our lives fusing art and language.
Fates dance.
Fire spirit welcomes sun, rain, life energies.
WE salute the sun every dawn.
