A Navaratri Offering to the Great Mother

The Nine Nights of the Mother is winding down, but I finally found my copy of Ramprasad Sen's Shakti bhakti verse and want to post two or three songs over the next few days.

First, these are reprinted from the 1982 edition of "Grace and Marcy In Her Wild Hair, Selected Poems to the Mother Goddess", by Ramprasad Sen, translated by Leonard Nathan and Clinton Seely, Great Eastern Press. Hereafter identified as "Grace & Mercy" with page and poem numbers.

This is one of my favorites. I'll comment in another post.

All right, You crazy woman,
Get down off the Great Lord's chest!

Shiva's not dead; He's simply
The Master Yogi meditating.

But poison has weakened Him,
He can't bear the force of Your feet, Mother.

Now, get down before His ribs cave in--
O Shiva's Woman. You're pitiless, pitiless.

He drank poison and survived,
Why should He die now?

Ramprasad thinks He's playing dead
Just to have Your feet touching Him.

(Grace & Mercy, poem 38, page 47)