Shiva, Cosmic Dancer, by Sheenie Ambardar

Shiva Nataraja statue (India) located at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Photograph by Kenneth Lu. Kenneth Lu, CC BY 2.0

Shiva, Cosmic Dancer

O Shiva,
Great creator and destroyer, you stand with arms unfurled
Atop the puny demon of ego and ignorance

O Shiva,
With Mother Ganga flowing from your locks
You bring forth the creation and destruction of universes galore

The celestial sound of Om bellowing from your drum,
The clash of worlds emanating from your steps,
The knowledge of life, coiled like serpent around your neck,
You dance the Cosmos into existence

O Hindu Lord of Dance, encircled in flaming fire and heat,
Your impassive face belies your eternal task

Here and now; ceaseless and forever,
Universal ecstasy pulsates through your writhing limbs

The never-ending cycle of birth and death, planets and suns
Stars and streams
Meadows and trees
All echo in your chest

Sheenie Ambardar

Sheenie Ambardar is a writer, artist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and activist. She loves art, Hindu philosophy, apricot maltipoos, and bright stickers. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Stanford Daily, The Getty Iris, and Zocalo Public Square. Sheenie lives and practices in Los Angeles, CA.