I.

it started as a dull ache deep inside the solar plexus -
i looked up at him and he twisted deeper, cruelly and
my veins swelled with pain, blood boiled over. the
tip of his spear travelled up, up, up! my body rent,
your eyes spilled into rivers but my own were dry.

II.

tiamat, great saltwater sea. with my apsu, there was
nothing in the world for us until he came to me and
life sprang forth; coral bones, everywhere there were
schools of shimmering fish and the endless churning
water, deep and dark in the abyss of us.

III.

the morning after the great divide, our world war three,
i awoke and he was gone. there was nothing left inside
me but rage, thick and black. the waves crested, beat
themselves against the shore of my skin. two seas into
one and i am lost, cries fading into the northern wind.

08/26/2008

Author's Note: A work in progress. In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat was the mother of all things, the saltwater sea. She and Apsu, freshwater formed all life and birthed the Elder Gods. Apsu was slain by Enki and Tiamat was slain by Anu (or Enlil or Marduk, the legends are unclear). She was split in two and her tears became the Tigris and Euphrates.

Posted on 08/26/2008
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