Fecundity At Play

Painting by Rick Mobbs

Fecundity At Play

Milla had two primary companions;
Ginger, her reddish golden pony,
whom she walked with
more than she rode,
and Jo-Jo,
her beautiful imaginary brother,
who stayed by her
night and day.

Each dewy morning
she ventured out
with her mother and auntie
to gather fruit and berries and herbs
on the steaming Savanna, both
near the forest
and the sea.

Her mother habitually wore
a long leopard scarf
on her head and neck
so that Yellow Eyes,
their golden Tom-puss
could ride proud
on her naked shoulders.
Sometimes, like today,
he perched atop her head
like a purring pottery,
always keeping his balance.

Auntie was with child,
smiling incessantly, saying,
“Soon your new cousin will come,
and you will be able to hold him,
love him and be one
of his caregivers;
then Jo-Jo will not
attend you so much. “
Milla wept, sobbing hard,
for she could not imagine
a full day without
Jo-Jo’s counsel and companionship.

“One morning soon, my daughter,”
her mother whispered,
“You will set aside
your childish clothes,
stride natural and naked in the sun,
becoming a young woman,
a part of our feminine force,
a child no more”

Milla’s tears dried up
and her sobs subsided,
and love fell like maternal mist
on her shining child’s face.

“Some day you too
will pray to Veeshna,
our goddess of fertility,
and she will hear you,
summoning an infant
from the stars
deep beyond the veil,
and that baby will take up residence
within you, and soon
the sweet mysteries of life
will be as an open book to you
as you become a mother,
adding your contribution
to the Great Cycle
of our earth; a mother
birthing a piece of the Cosmos.”

Milla shrugged and said in a small voice,
“That is all so wonderful to hear,
and I am sure it will become true
some day,
but if you will excuse me, please
on this day
Ginger and Jo-Jo and I
need to go play
while there is still a need
to do so.

Glenn A. Buttkus October 2008