Queen Mother

The BWD in 2003
July 7



Mnemosyne – The Queen Mother


"And again, he [Zeus] loved Mnemosyne with the beautiful hair: and of her the nine gold-crowned Mousai were born, who delight in feasts and the pleasures of song."
-Theogony 915



The consort I invoke of Zeus divine;
source of the holy, sweetly speaking Mousai nine;
free from the oblivion of the fallen mind,
by whom the soul with intellect is joined.

Reason’s increase and thought to thee belong,
all-powerful, pleasant, vigilant, and strong.
‘Tis thine to waken from lethargic rest
all thoughts deposited within the breast;
and nought neglecting, vigorous to excite
the mental eye from dark oblivion’s night.

Come, blessed power, thy mystics’ memory wake
to holy rites, and Lethe’s (forgetfulness) fetters break.”
–Orphic Hymn 77 to Mnemosyne




Mnemosyne was the first goddess of music, for Mnemosyne was adapt in the arranging of sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as though melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre. She was the master of composition, and the inverter of words and reason. Born of the first generation that descended directly from the parenting of earth and sky, the Titan giants’ ideas were vast and untamed.


My Sonnet to Memosyne


Memosyne with the musical connections
Attracted Zeus, who had no objections
Weary from the ills, and stressed from the sorrow
Zeus lie with her one night, thinking not of the morrow.

Memosyne sang softly in Zeus’ ear
Those things he wished to hear
The song of creation,
The song of formation
The dimension of her direction
The idea of selection
(Gramada)

She was prime
There would be nine.
New eggs to be fertilized.
Zeus would be immortalized.

Want to stay another night?
She said.
He nodded his crowned head.

On the second night, she stroked his passion
Round and round in a clockwise fashion
She licked his earlobes and gave him the notion
Of the intensity and vitality of emotion
And then it came to her in a dream
She would call this Melpomene.
(Vold)

Want to stay another night?
She said.
He nodded his crowned head.

On the third night, she became his wife
And within her womb, she created life
All the elements that inhale the breath
And deal with concepts of life and death
The things that share in relation
To the spirit of creation
(Borledim)

Want to stay another night?
She said.
He nodded his crowned head.

On the fourth night, she thought of design
How it would look, what it would define
The image of the physical form
How it would move, how it would perform.
She thought of her babies and how they mature
And decided to call this Terpsichore.
(Zuli)

Want to stay another night?
She said.
He nodded his crowned head.

The fifth night sparked her proclivity
And she expressed herself in artistic creativity.
She painted the bedroom, and wrote a play
She wove a basket, arranged a bouquet
She danced around in silk colors bright
And caused strict Zeus to laugh in delight.
(Sumari)

Want to stay another night?
She said.
He nodded his crowned head.

The sixth night sparked communication
She talked on and on with no cessation
She gossiped with blasphemy
She emphasized with voracity
And this caused her to evoke
The very first dirty joke
(Ilda)

Want to stay another night?
She said.
He nodded his crowned head.

On the seventh night, she rested.
She pondered truth vested.
She wanted the remembrance
Of all qualities of essence
To hold true, and stand the test
She felt this beingness in her breast
(Milumet)

Want to stay another night?
She said.
He nodded his crowned head.

It was the eighth night that she devised
A way to not be compromised
A way for her to guarantee
That her ideas were at least distortion free
That one fair child would make her career
The job of just being the overseer.
(Sumafi)

Want to stay another night?
She said.
He nodded his crowned head.

On the ninth night she would contemplate
The return of Zeus to a natural state
With calming healing energy
She return the symmetry
For the seed of Zeus had been spent.
And thus was conceived the daughters of intent
(Tumold)