Kali the Mother

The stars are blotted out,
                       The clouds are covering clouds,
         It is darkness vibrant, sonant.
                 In the roaring, whirling wind
             Are the souls of a million lunatics
                         Just loose from the prison-house,
        Wrenching trees by the roots,
               Sweeping all from the path.
     The sea has joined the fray,
                     And swirls up mountain-waves,
 To reach the pitchy sky.
      The flash of lurid light

Reveals on every side
                   A thousand, thousand shades
             Of Death begrimed and black —
                      Scattering plagues and sorrows,
Dancing mad with joy,
        Come, Mother, come!
For Terror is Thy name,
        Death is in Thy breath,
And every shaking step
             Destroys a world for e’er.
            Thou “Time”, the All-Destroyer!
           Come, O Mother, come!
Who dares misery love,
               And hug the form of Death,
        Dance in Destruction’s dance,
             To him the Mother comes.