Shadows, Light, and Myth (a poem)

There is no light without the shadow
There is no dawn without the darkness

In the primordial awakening, the Sun God
Was bathed in intense light and the blinding
Rays of gold accompanied his coronation

He met Mother Moon in the field, in the cover
Of the darkness, their naked, lithe bodies
Faintly shining by the light given off
From each of them, as they consummated
The love of the world

The shadows danced in the tall grass
And The Shadow Man peered from behind
The shadow-side of each of the Gods
Their murderous and lecherous sides

Thus, the battle of duality began
When the earth was born
Nascent, weak, and vulnerable
Like Cain and Abel fighting and killing in the desert

These shadows, how they follow us
But the light follows right behind
The shadows of the alleyways
And the opium dens, and the back-room dealings
Smoke-filled, lusty betrayals

Shadow Men and Women
The repressions of centuries
And the archetypes of Moons, Suns, and Gods
Heroes, Villains, and peasant-folk
Mixed into the cauldron of myth and emotion
Never to see the heartbreak and glory
Of the light mixed with shadow
And the darkness meeting the dawn

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons – “Myths of Mexico and Peru” (1913))