Two writings

[Little Red Riding Hood]

I would very much like to hear opinions of these writings. The first is a little story I wrote called the Defeat of El, or else the Defeat of Light, an Autumn Equinox story. The second is a poem called Stirring the Pot, which is mostly about the apple, the garden and the birth of the world, I thought it would be particularly relevant for this place.

The defeat of Light

By red light of evening I gathered a pile of Autumn leaves.
I sat before it and watched the red bleed out of the sky, till there was only faint glow of the penumbra: what I had been waiting for.
I took a lighter from my pocket and held it out to the edge of the pile...

"Stop! Don't do it!", cried a voice deep and grave.

I paused for a moment, then flicked my lighter again at the leaves.

"No! Stop!", the voice boomed.

I turned, and I beheld before me an Angel of the Lord.

And I asked the angel, "Why not? It would be so warm and orange"

"Because the Lord compelled you to gather these leaves, but it was only a test of your faith and obedience. Rejoice, you need not burn them."

"Now I think of it, I never knew exactly why I was gathering them, and the leaves did feel unusually sticky on my fingers."

"No that's maple syrup... Uh I mean yes! The Lord made you do it!"

"You know I feel quite normal actually, I just got tranced out collecting leaves for a while. I even forgot to plug up that tree I tapped. SORRY TREE."

"Look, the Lord has forgotten you to plug the maple tree, what a miracle! Follow me and we will go to a land of rich food, where there is lots of procreation."

"Uh, no. I don't think that was the Lord's doing, I am quite sure it was my fault when I spilled everyone's maple syrup all over the place."

"Don't worry about it, come! Eat the food of my world, and procreate with other humans."

"Bright one, Adversary, you can't release me from it. I'm not going with you, I have stuff to do."

"HUMANS. LIKE. PROCREATION."

"Shhh! The half light is fading. Stay and watch the fire if you like."

I touched lighter to leaves and was again interrupted so rudely-

"No! Don't do it, or you will surely... have a really sad time! And your hair will fall out."

I lit the fire, being bored of this annoying creature, and hoping to dull with orange its white luminescence, and with crackling its incessant voice.

"No! Don't burn the leaves! You can have my goooooooooooat...."

And the angel faded with the light
The work started with the beginning of night
Into the cauldron, give up the fight

[Little Red Riding Hood]

Stirring the Pot
Creating new things, and causing lots of trouble
Creating conflict, and causing it to dissolve
Upturning and creating, then dissolving to Chaos: Peace beyond Conflict, then again from the void: the Double, the Three, Four, Five
The beauty of growth causing so much trouble!

And starting the dance

The dance is chaotic, the dance is incessant, all those who hear it just have to join in
Like the red shoes, you can't stop if you want to, nor if you don't

Into the houses the dance breaks in-
"Get out of my house, you're making too much noise! It's too much; I don't know what's happening, and it's happening too fast! You're shaking the crockery, the house will collapse- I'm falling from my lofty chair- Get out, you're driving me to despair!"
But the music is too loud, the dance too incessant.
Tell it to go outside and it's already there
You just have to move, a wondrous curse
So much trouble, beauty and despair!
The dance of conflict, the dance of the world
The birth of All, and the movement that flows
Back to the pot where it all began

Conflict and Resolution; Conflict, Resolution- moving ever toward dissolution
You can't stop, you will dance
All the way to Hell and the fires of dissolution
Dancing with devils all the way to Hell and Dissolution
Dance with your devil all the way there
Dance with your beloved all the way back
In the middle you'll burn, burn all away
Or you'll dance to your death and never come back

This is the trouble with joining the dance, danceward to death
Because you opened the box and stirred in the womb-
now you'll dance it or sit still and dance it