“There are and will be those who think I have gone overboard. Let them rest assured that this assessment is correct, probably beyond their wildest imagination, and that I will continue to do so."
-- Mary Daly
The icy wind bears the mournful message:
a mighty Amazon has relinquished her earthly bones;
the cloudy sky dons a somber shroud
to grieve the indomitable, outrageous Oracle
who has breathed her final breath.
Mary Daly has returned to the arms of the Great Mother
to consult with Nemesis, un-silence the silent tongues
of countless women poisoned by patriarchy
and its malignant misogyny.
Heretic. Visionary. High Priestess.
Mary, the wailing Maenad, still sounds her dire warning,
Mary, the fierce Fury, oozes outrage from every pore,
Mary the Inviolate Word-Weaver, exposes the illusions and the lies
Mary the Spiraling Spark, whirls and twirls, spins and stings
demanding justice, transformation, an end to gynocide.
In Mary’s name, remember everything they want you to forget,
renounce every falsehood you are forced to swallow,
use your wit, your will, your wisdom to rail and wail and howl,
become a revolting, revolving, evolving revolutionary,
go overboard, remake the wide, round wounded world
into a wondrous realm beyond our wildest imaginations.
Mary Saracino is a novelist, poet and memoir-writer who lives in Lafayette, CO . Her most recent novel, The Singing of Swans (Pearlsong Press 2006) was a 2007 Lambda Literary Awards Finalist. Her short story, "Vicky's Secret" earned the 2007 Glass Woman Prize.
___________________________________________