Mother Goddess 

Natasha Allen

CN: death

Within some stars
lies a blackened seed
that upon one’s death 
grows with a need

to stretch and fill 
the void left behind
She begins Her dance
in a moment of time.

Gentle spirit, 
quiet embodiment of lust,
She disrupts the order,
She attracts what She desires.

Stars spin devoted 
around this One 
who may become their tomb
yet they cannot resist
gravity’s call—
it is nature’s command 
they give Her their light.

For like all Mothers,
those that are and
those that were,
She breathes this truth:
living is expansion,
existence is growth.

This is the rhythm 
creation strikes
on these drums:
don’t stifle 
yourself
lest you 
weaken 
and 
wilt—

TAKE 
UP 
SPACE
.

The Science

When thinking of chaos, I often consider the extreme physics present within black holes. ‘Mother Goddess’ is inspired by the violent elegance of these celestial bodies and the fierce divinity of the Hindu goddess Kali, whose name is the feminine Sanskrit word for ‘time’ or ‘black’. Kali embodies both endings and beginnings. She devours the ego in death and births new realities. Her dance, untamed yet rhythmic, collapses our illusions and remakes worlds.

In astrophysics, tidal forces stretch and compress a cosmic body as it’s pulled unevenly by gravity. Near black holes, the extreme versions of these forces shred stars in what’s called a tidal disruption event. Though mythologised as avaricious vacuums, matter captured by a black hole rarely crosses its event horizon. Instead, it may form an accretion disc, a radiant spiral of superheated gas. It can also blast outward in relativistic jets, massive beams of matter travelling near the speed of light. Black holes are observed in the center of nearly every galaxy, suggesting their role in the birth of galaxies, stars and perhaps life itself.

Like Kali, black holes embody duality. They command stars, reminding us to surrender to growth, stretch beyond fear, and unapologetically take up space.

The Poet

Natasha Allen (she/her) is an artist and writer living in Southeast Michigan, USA, ancestral land of the Anishinaabe and Wyandot People, who live there still. She is a Senior Associate Librarian and technologist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Campus. Her work is often inspired by nature and explores philosophy and personal or historical trauma, frequently through the lens of astrophysics and cosmology. When not writing, she can be found making miniature dioramas, sewing, leatherworking, or performing vocals for a post-punk/screamo band, Waunita. ‘Mother Goddess’ is her first public poetry submission.

Next poem: Once Upon a Time by Winona Anderson