Kali the Mother

by Vivekananda




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 loosed 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.

-- from Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar, by Elizabeth U. Harding

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Kali the Mother