Hel Speak: 'Mother Death'

When a loved one dies, there are wounds that open on the surface of this earth. The ground shifts and quakes; splitting ties, breaking lines, leaving words never expressed to become burdens only the heart can speak. Whispers of unfulfilled promises, hugs never embraced, rage never uttered… These are the ashes of our wake. There are tears that must be shed, rivers of sorrow that flow from the source of our love… and the blackness that calls back to us, in Mother Death’s voice saying… Give me your songs. Pour your pain unto me. I will hold them now. I will keep them safe for you. The wounds of the living must be burned into the ether. Raise your voice and sing. Raise your fist and scream. Raise your chin… and cry those holy, acidulous tears; tears of transformation, tears of transmutation. Grieve, my child, and I will hold you both. The dead will feel your salt water sorrow within the depths of these cracks; earthen fissures made to carry both the weight and the way through. They will hear the echoes of your voice within my womb.