IO Dionysus
I called upon the God
the Womanly One
child of Zeus and Semele

I drank from his cup and joined
the maenad train – in the cup I gaind
escape from care
ecstasy in the vine
god’s blessing under which
the sacred and profane became one
and the gods’ wedding party never ended

Our clothes tore off our bodies
we were uncaring, drunken
our mad hunt coursed the hills, unstoppable
we’d tear apart our meat, raw
our feast
with raw hides we adorned
our wild woman maenad bodies
we went beyond all boundaries
desperate to escape the confines
the expectations of others
the strictures of class bigotry convention
too much to bear
drink the wine and goodbye to care

Until all our former selves
were washed and danced away
we collapsed into the arms of God
when we awakened reborn
former lives cast away, refuse
wake us back to sobriety
Twice-born, we will give thanks
we’ll tell our stories again and again
of running with maenads
and the gift of the gods
we’ll testify
to the gift of the Womanly One
Dionysus.