Janani — Clelia Vahni Lewis

From the void she arises flowing, a subtle wind, a coiling mist

Out of nothing, a longing, circular, no beginning, no end, just this

She is sharp desire and heat, yet a softness round and cool,

Amid her being is a poignant need that becomes a whirling pool

A rhythmic wave exudes, steady pulsing; sound, and light

That gathers itself unto itself in patterns of teeming delight

Countless beings are born and die in the circle of her embrace

Numinous beings unfolding and folding, alive with beauty and grace

And the light creates darkness, confusion, and fear, the knots of form and mind

And gods and demons arise together, a carnal fugue of ruthless design

Some call her limitless sky, mother of wisdom, the source divine

Some call her earth, and fruit and plenty, mother of hearth and home

Some call her madness and confusion, disorder, chaos, destruction, and sin

She is power and force, victory and loss, she is the substance of all these things

To those with faith, who know her secrets, her compassion is not constrained

She is the milk that nourishes life, the electric yearning within their veins

She encircles them, she is them, she is silent strength and calm

Bestowing fearlessness and love; bearing, protecting, enduring all