The Slavic Creation myths include several different stories: creation by diving, creation from a cosmic egg, and creation from dismemberment. I went with the ‘creation from dismemberment’ myth as inspiration for this poem. It is a little bit gory though, so here’s your content note for violence, blood and viscera. You have been warned.
Creation with an Axe
A blazing, sanguinary wound of light,
this reddish star – our sun – a brutal breach.
The viscera of moonlight bleeds through night
and stains the sky with triumphs out of reach.
While shoulder blade tectonics move beneath
the sinew soil of slowly shifting dunes,
Creation swings its axe and grinds its teeth
and softly hums an ever-changing tune.
A god can give their body to the earth,
their bones transferred to sediment and scree.
A violent world demands a violent birth;
the axe must bite the bark to fell the tree.
A god can give their body to the earth;
a violent world demands a violent birth.
LM
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| Dolmatov World Tree |
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