Notes on the poem:
1)Yggdrasil is the great tree from Norse Mythology, Mazdah is light and fire from the Persian.
2)"Kukeon" is a drink or food of ancient Greece which Demeter is mentioned to have drunk while in exile here or there. Heracleitus asserts that the Universe is layered just as is the kukeon which segregates when not stirred.It has been likened to a fondue. Fondue has been attested to have come from Vaudois, Switzerland in testimony from 70 or 80 years ago, before the dish's fame spread.
Demeter, great Mother in Olympus’ kitchen:
the great and continuous stirrer at the stove,
whose wood is Yggdrasil
whose fire is Mazdah.
Great dame of the world falls asleep and ceases the endless
Whirlpool of her wooden spoon which comes to rest
like Noah’s ark forgotten
upon a snowy mount.
The Kukeon on the stove begins slowly to separate,
Slowly at first, then more rapidly it layers;
kukeon like Vaudois fondue,
a dish from heaven:
Dionysos good red wine and Demeter’s own barley,
mixed with divinely grated cheese , white cheese,
made from the milk of a lionness;
a cheese whole and unbroken and
eternal as the albined Moon.
As she slept the fondue spread wide;
From Demeter’s pot spilled out the Earth
the mountains and the sea;
and the inhabitants thereof.
Out spilled the four rivers of Eden and
Its garden filled with cautionary blooms:
the poppies first,
whose blood gives dreams.
Then the lilacs and lavender and roses
Lastly fell the marigolds and lowly vetch
which actually tricked
our mother Eve to sin.
From the bottom of Demeter’s kettle came
Weighty the sandals of beauty, sandals of freedom,
great running sandals far ,
filled with thee outstanding!
(Homer wished for 2 voices to sing
of thee!)
Kore, or Persephone - the daughter of Demeter, sitting as Queen with Hades, king of the underworld.
Note that the symbols are associated with life and growth. Also note how much the chair upon which they sit resembles Egyptian chairs. This one reminds me of Tutankhamun's chair.
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