Recessional (A Victorian Ode)
God of our fathers, known of old –
Lord of our far-flung battle line
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine —
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget – lest we forget!
The tumult and the shouting dies —
The Captains and the Kings depart –
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet.
Lest we forget – lest we forget!
Far-called our navies melt away –
On dune and headland sinks the fire –
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget – lest we forget!
If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe -.
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
Or lesser breeds without the Law —
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet.
Lest we forget – lest we forget!
For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard•
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
And quarding calls not Thee to guard.
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy Mercy on Thy people, Lord!
Amen.
Recessional was (along with The Vampire) written by Rudyard Kipling in 1897, to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. A cautionary Imperialist, he wished to remind his fellow countrymen where England’s power and glory ultimately came from. ‘Lest we Forget’, of course, became the classic war memorial epitaph. (Nineveh is modern day Mosul, in Iraq).
ANAT/ANATH
Anat was the Goddess of war and death, worshipped throughout Mesopotamia and Egypt, from prehistoric times to the 4th-6th century AD. Sculptures of Anat are sometimes confused with male warrior/death Gods, because of her boyish physique. Her adolescent form, however, distinguishes her from a nurturing, mother goddess. Anat personifies the irresistible, testosterone induced ‘rush’ experienced in both sex and battle, which summons willful young men to one mortal coming of age or another.
Violently she smites and gloats,
Anat cuts them down and gazes;
her liver exults in mirth..
for she plunges her knees in the
blood of soldiers, her loins
in the gore of cleaving among the tables.
– From the “Ras Shamra Texts” (Canaanite cuneiform tablets),
Syria Primitive, sacrificial rights of Anat (Anath)
Anat’s bloodlust may have to do with war and genital mutilation being the male equivalent of menstruation rights, as well as primitive blood sacrifice required to fertilize the earth. But like her prototypes, Durga and Kali, she was also prayed to for peace and severs illusion and attachment.
Remove from the earth war,
Set in the dust love;
Pour peace amidst the earth
Tranquility amidst the fields
The Tapestry
War is anathema. It depletes blood like anemia. Hence, Anathemia, which sounds like a contagious, war disease.
I began working on this third and final tapestry of my series ‘Queen of the Night – an Orientalist Fantasy in sequins starring Theda Bara as The Vamp’ during the start of the Syrian war (the recent one), then only worked on it sporadically. When the current war in/on Ukraine began, however, I was able to channel some of ‘her’ energy and finish the piece. It definitely has more of an active, animated feel than the first two, with explosions going on all around, comets of doom flying and vultures pointing the way, while red poppies sprout from spilled blood.
The goddess sports a westernized mini skirt with a ‘V’ for victory, black high boots/long gloves, and modern weapons replace her old cleaver and spear.
Anat’s lion becomes a panther, reminiscent of the ‘restricted’ symbol for 18+ movies, ie, when a young man is old enough for sex films, he is old enough for battle – a competition over him between love goddess and war god breaks out. But like Ishtar, dual goddess Anat cleverly embodies both morning and evening star personas.
Theda Bara (anagram for ‘Arab Death’) famously played Cleopatra in the 1917 Fox film, wherein she wore a variety of interesting ‘Egyptian’ headgear. The vulture crown, below was said to be her favourite.
All written material herein except quoted poetry is ©copyright Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be reproduced without my permission (and a credit/link to article). You may share the post via link only.