Balneum Mariae

 

Divine vapors steamily kiss the face

Of every amorous surface

From which God looks out upon you.

 

Surrounded in recurrences of water,

You are bathed in mysteries.

Sphinxes emerge from the mosaic

Of tiles swirling on the shower wall,

Encompassing you in the enigma 

Of your senses, riddling your mind

From nonage to senescence, night and day,

Their cordon extending along the avenue 

Of your mysterious destiny, 

And you bathe.... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nerves of body-mind opening at dawn,

Awakening to

The aura of white Egyptian roses 

Rising out of the desert, scattering their albescent sepals

In the rain that spills from your shower-head. 

And you sing, "O VITRIOL!" 

 "Visita Ineterioa Terrae Invenies Occultum Lapidem!"

Again, visit, visit

The interior

Of Earth

 

And purify, purify

Again, rectify and refine

That which is base within you and the world

And you will find

The Rock of Ages,

The Hidden Stone

That supports all Perfectly: 

The soul and body purified

In the Sea of Mary's Bath-

The Heat of Jesus

Nourished by Her Waters. 

Notes

Mariae Balneum, also known as Bain Marie, is a water bath or double boiler, a type of heated bath used in alchemy and to this day in science, industry and cooking to heat materials gently or to keep materials warm over a period of time. It literally means "Mary's Bath."

VITRIOL.  Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem: "Visit the Interior of the Earth and Rectify/Purify it to Find the Hidden Stone."   An alchemical motto.