The woman who casts no shadow on the ground

With the authority of one chosen at birth
for strange but enticing awareness
following the Trials,
I come
into my own
being,
couple with my yen, ceremoniously;
I am given a ring;
my partner, but
myself, the unknown bridegroom
borne from distant lands
for the marriage
of two who do not recognize each other.
He is authentic, but without substance; he
exists in the space behind me
where my body
blocks the light: an absence of light,
connected to me
at my feet.
He enters me, standing;
fills me, and I am become
the Woman Who Casts No Shadow On The Ground:

No longer innocent.

Copyright © 1998 Caitilin Cagney

This poem is published with the permission of the author.