The Two Princes

I fell. I died.

There was no tunnel.

No white light.

I simply appeared here,

In the cold endless mansion of the Underworld;

Knowing the way as if I were a resident

Returning after a long time away.

I battled with the Lord of this domain

Until he lay weakened unto death.

The stars moved into chaos;

The Gods defeated by an unseen foe.

T’was all of my doing,

And so I began to set things aright;

Put the weakened lord back upon his throne

In his darkened room,

In this darkened world;

Commanded the stars return to their own places,

Be still in the sky;

And pulled those wretched Gods to their feet.

All with sheer will as my companion.

~~~

I stood on a balcony high above

A crowded shinning view of countless warriors

Dressed in gold.

Whence he appeared and from where,

I do not know.

He was simply here;

As though he always were,

But my eyes could only see him now.

A silver-dressed prince,

He offered me his hand,

For the warriors and the world

To be mine.

He danced with me, wooed my heart,

Dizzied my mind and tempted my soul

Towards glistening rewards.

~~~

But I knew in my deepest parts,

This would be a path running through with

Red.

I wanted power,

I wanted wealth.

I wanted to help the world

In a way I knew no one but me could.

I wanted to love it and have it love me too.

This…I knew…would not be the way.

Not for me.

No warrior walks a path of peace,

Petals strewn before them.

And I…

I wanted it all…

Heaven throwing onto me both;

The petals of the Lotus…and of the Rose.

~~~

And so, I chose instead, the other prince;

He who sits near death,

Silent upon the throne in utter dark.

I felt the relief in my soul.

And yet…

Why is he so triumphant I wonder…?

He smiles as though he has gained a great

Victory.

A mere Human;

What am I…?

That he should feel he has attained some

Great prize.

Am I the light for his darkened realm?

The golden sun to shine brightly

On the throne closest to his heart?

~~~

My silver-dressed prince has disappeared;

A raven he has become;

Flying to entwine with him in the dark,

A single body…twin souls within.

This new prince does not offer me his hand.

He does not dance with me.

My heart is lonely, sad, broken,

Longing for words I wish to hear;

For I have fallen in love and cannot leave.

He offers instead, consolation;

A dusty gift kept in an ancient box,

Unused more than two thousand years;

A cloak of liquid gold.

He wraps it about my shoulders;

Keeping me warm

In this cold and desolate land of his.

~~~

Years pass in his world.

I could not see what he truly was,

His stillness a deception;

His tail hidden within the nightly dark below.

Children of a kind

I would never have dreamt into being

Are mine;

Mother of Nagas I have become.

A battle calls to him dearest to my soul.

Armor clad, he leaves me;

Walking through the mirror gate

Shimmering of liquid silver.

He has given to me guardianship;

Throne of the Underworld.

Gatekeeper I am;

To this…

Birthplace of death and creation,

Through which all must pass;

Children of Manu,

Creatures beyond the Veil,

And Gods alike.

In all of my dreams,

I did not imagine this my fate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: This poem is based on several recurring dreams I had in 2009 that played out very much like an endless story. Rajkumarie Devi