Maenad
Let me be as maenad; I believe in this, most holy of partingLet us weave our hair with ivy; We can believe in flowering Let them strike rocks with thyrsus; Believe you me in water Let the streams be milk and honey; A belief in this, nourisher Let the wolf cubs come; We need not fear fires, believe me Let the mad women roam; Hands break flesh, every army The maenad, mad women of Baccus, wine-living harpies We believe in the Delphic virgins; Let us dance in threes, Millions, hundreds, any, always, all, infinite, on mountaintops. Let us be Bassarid, Maenad, ecstasy-hunters. Let us be this.
This poem first appeared in the inaugural edition of Pine + Basil literary journal.