I walked cautiously, knowing my belly
full of wide wings, night, and starlight.

The dark highway led me from the others,
and then a narrow path led to Kali.
I could see her, sitting, sewing
on a huge tapestry as rich as blood.

I walked cautiously, knowing my belly
full of wide wings, night, and starlight.

I saw in its folds a glimpse of creation,
animals, planets, mountains, and trees,
embroidered thick with contrasts and colors,
on a background as warm as blood.

I walked cautiously, knowing my belly
full of wide wings, night, and starlight.

Did I have to explain what I wanted?
Did she wait till I tried to explain?

No, of course not; she’d known my story
before I had come. She was Kali.

I walked cautiously, knowing my belly
full of wide wings, night, and starlight.

Excerpted and adapted from Among the Goddesses: An Epic Libretto in Seven Dreams (Red Hen Press, 2010).