Poems Of The Mad Prophet

Griselda Steiner

The POEMS OF THE MAD PROPHET are from my play "MARY M and THE MAD PROPHET". The play moves across millennia: from the Biblical time of Jesus - to the Now.  It reveals the essence of two MARY MAGDALENES:  MARY M – the "Hor", still portrayed today as a repentant prostitute and MARY B – the Bride of Gnostic lore. The two MARYS are descendants of the ancient Double Goddess, who represents the regenerative power of the divine feminine.

    (The MAD PROPHET, narrator, poet and jazz drummer, wearing only a loincloth, sits on a desert rock with his drums and Bible.)

MAD PROPHET

I am the Mad Prophet
From an ancient generation
Of philosophers and poets

I, the hidden Shaman
The silent power of words
Bridging the worlds
From the earth to the stars

From century to century
The eternal drum I beat
As I beat the drum's skin
Cycles of history Repeat – Repeat

    (The MAD PROPHET summons contemporary churchgoers
    after Sunday service.)

Hear ye – Hear ye – Western civilization is coming to an end!  

Come gather round, ye flock of the modern wilderness
It's a Mad World
A Mad World needs a Mad Prophet

From my plot of sand and rock
Three religions took root
With stories revealing the truth
Now taught as truth themselves
This Bible is a great book, but it was cut down
When the Gnostic Gospels were found
They paved the way to revere Mary Magdalene today

The Bible speaks of whores
Like Tamar at the crossroads
Who seduced her father-in-law
To become matriarch of the House of David

But preachers, priests and rabbis
Read between the lines
When they cast Mary as a prostitute
A sinner in our eyes

    (The MAD PROPHET falls in love with MARY M who rejects him).

Oh, Holy Eros! – Are you jiving up there?
I need some lovin
I haven't had any love in two thousand years
Pope Innocent III wrote in the 12th Century:
"The sexual act is so shameful that it is intrinsically evil"

I always liked church women
Sorry Ladies
Is it the way I dress?
Maybe I should wear
A blue suit, white shirt and red tie
Like a 21st century snake oil political con man
Be a cool dude - Project a power image

Sex like power is simple
You go Down – In – Out – Up  - Take Over and Make over
Some politicians went into the closet and took out a blue suit
Their old closets were filled with Skulls and Bones

They went
Down the steps
Into the crypt
Out as a Yale Graduate
Up to the Presidency
Then took Over the U.S.
Created chaos

Made over the system
And may take over again

Oh, Holy Eros!
A Mad Prophet needs love

    (At the end, the MAD PROPHET reflects.)

Ah, the fierce irony of life
That strikes like a sword
Midst the calm at the center of a storm
Flinging us into the icy winds

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©2012 Griselda Steiner
©2012 Publication Scene4 Magazine

Griselda Steiner is a poet, dramatist and free-lance writer living in New York City. A member of the Playwrights and Directors Unit of the Actors Studio from 2007 through 2009, she has written the play MARY M and the MAD PROPHET, the musical HYPATIA and screenplay THE GODDESS IN EXILE.
For more of her poetry, commentary and articles, check the Archives

 

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June 2012

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June 2012

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