Peonies by Carolyn Lee Boyd

I was born into this life laughing
Embarking on what seemed to me to be
A heavenly sojourn on a blessed planet. 
In my first memory, I lay among the exuberant peonies bursting into
Moonlit white, beguiling pink, raucous blood crimson from tiny buds.
Clasping hands, the peonies and I held Earth’s beauty tight 
In dawn’s ever-brightening kiss of the sun.

At that instant I did not yet know all I had sacrificed for my birth.
Did I remember gamboling contentedly in the Otherworld’s fairy light
While waiting to emerge into fragile flesh on 20th century Earth?
Did I know that the price for this mortal human life would be 
Pain, hunger, violence, anger, bereavement, and death?

Over the years I have often wondered why the goddesses choose to dwell 
On Earth, consorting with us humans full of faults and tragedies.
Why did they create our eggshell brittle bodies and minds
And remain to help us pick up the pieces when each life fades so soon like 
Peony blooms in the blistering late summer?
Why did Durga fight the Demon to save us?*
Why did Demeter regenerate the landscape to nourish us**
And Amaterasu emerge from her sanctuary cave to revive us with Her sunlight?***

I think my own answer arose in that first moment of consciousness among the peonies,
That ur memory from which all others in my life evolved,
When I spun with gratitude in Earth’s gravitational orbit and
Fell in love with all life on our planet.

The ancients say that the Greek goddess Selene 
Drove Her chariot, the moon, across the sky.
She invented peonies to reflect the glow of moonbeams onto Earth
And thus protect us from the terrors of the night and evil spirits.

Perhaps, instead, She simply longed to see our faces shining in Hers.
Just as we are enlightened by experiencing our own divinity,
Could She be seeking illumination in her own humanness amongst us?
She witnesses as we care for injured animals and newborn trees
Make love and comfort and caress
Build cozy shelters, cook food, teach children the ways of our ancestors
Whistle and sing and cry and speak poetry
Dance and paint and sculpt and weave.

She sees all those things we do to ease 
Earth’s pain, hunger, violence, anger, bereavement, and death 
And so grow communion and compassion and service
To make everyone’s every moment the best of our world.

The goddesses hold close the truth that the bliss of the sun on our cheek at first light
While fierce blooms rise from the dirt to reflect the radiance of the moon
Is the greatest gift in the universe.
They honor that the acts we humans do to soothe suffering and sorrow are
As holy and worthy of reverence as ancient myths and revered rituals.
In kinship, may we mortals and divine bless this graceful planet we all share.

*Durga is a Hindu goddess who conquered a fearsome demon to save the Earth

** Demeter is a Greek Earth Goddess who withdrew the life force of the planet when Her daughter Persephone was kidnapped and raped. When Persephone was released for half the year, Demeter again allowed the Earth to be fruitful.

*** Amaterasu is a Japanese Shinto sun Goddess who retreated into a cave when Her brother ravaged the Earth, thus plunging the world into darkness. She emerged back into the world when She was lured out of the cave and Her people held up a mirror so She could see Her own beauty.

Photo of peony by Carolyn Lee Boyd

Original published in Return to Mago, July 8, 2022