Dionysus by Andrea Laws

Dionysus
Andrea Laws

serpents no longer crown his horns
his limbs…
torn to burn and stir
            giving birth to pomegranates for
                            mortal blood

drunk and sober realities accompanied with
weapons of vines and ivy,
shackle the
           cursed witnesses of his
                            transformations

spring obsession brings forth
his arrival
          dominating her raging ones;
          Rhea’s Mysteries
                            as Maenads sacrifice to
                            create legacies based on
                            the religious right of death

Dionysus! Dionysus! Dionysus!

your offering begins with
troubled souls
lost in darkness that you
created to find them again

free the righteous from
their chains of guilt
tear away shame brought by
man

your judging time begins
now and
forever shall be