Dies Natalis Solis Invicti

        Image Credits: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
On December 25
Born was Mithra
The Sun God
In Persia.
They slayed animals
And relished from flesh.
The blood cascaded down
The thirsty throat of Mithra.

In 274 AD
Came Mithra to Rome
By Emperor Aurelius
Who rebranded him
Soli Invictus
And then the Romans too
Acquired a Sun God
In their list of divines–
This time round
An invincible one,
Who knew no defeat.
Soli Invictus
Revered to
By merchants
Who knew
That the Invincible Sun God
Would never forsake them.
And the soldiers too
Knew no defeat
In the battlefields.
None knew of surrender 
In his able hand.

His persuasive mother
With a pre-perceived taste
Of a new creed
Seemingly sweet
And organized
Like verses in a poem
Persuaded him
To bid farewell
To Soli Invictus
And other Roman gods.
This man was Emperor Constantine.

Will Constantine the Great
Cast away his gods?
Will he cast away
The Invincible Sun God
Whom merchants,
Soldiers and himself
Believed in
With every fiber of their being?
He will
But not entirely.

324 AD.
No more slaughtering,
No more meat consumption
And no more blood offerings.
Declares Constantine.
Jesus of Nazareth
Is now, in Rome,
The true Sun God
And the day of worship,
Dies Soli, Sunday.

I should purchase fashion
Some days
Before Dies Natalis Solis Invicti
Lest it gets stuck to the shop.
I should travel home
Some days
Before bus fare hikes.

When they commemorate
The birth of Mithra
She will be injected
With brand new life
Which will pop out
Two-seventy days later–
The birth of Mithra
Will sow in her
Her own Messiah–
Her parents are less strict
On Dies Natalis Solis Invicti.

The last twelve months
Were a walk on a thorny path.
How can he
On Dies Natalis Solis Invicti
Not live last
And leave a booze legacy?
How can he,
On this day,
Not have his wheels
Bend time-space?

There’s no way,
On Dies Natalis Solis Invicti,
That their progeny
Will, come January,
Come back from school
A few minutes after leaving home.
How will they,
On Dies Natalis Solis Invicti,
Not feature in boutiques
To renew their looks
And keep aside coins
For their progeny?
Soli Invictus,
They believe,
Will do a miracle.

© Sea-Crab Poetry.

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Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 25, 2024 at 8:14 AM

    Exquisite

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robert MusilaDecember 25, 2024 at 9:01 AM

      Thanks a lot for your feedback. And thanks a lot, too, for rating my work that way. Merry Christmas!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousDecember 25, 2024 at 9:18 AM

    Your work is a master piece. Time will reveal you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robert MusilaDecember 25, 2024 at 9:22 AM

      You've got no single idea how this rejuvenates my spirit. Thanks for valuing my art. Merry Christmas!

      Delete

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