Sing, People! Sing of Dionysos!

I’m a terribly slow reader (probably because I’ve got too much on my reading list!), so forgive me for not noticing this sooner.

Art by Omar Rayyan (studiorayyan.com)

In addition to all the beautiful verses there, I humbly add:

Come to us, Liberator,
Breaker of shackles,
Slayer of fears,
Destroyer of boundaries.
Come to us, your people,
and release us from bondage.
Come with the fiery liquid!
Come, intoxicate us with freedom!

Metamorphosis

Dionysus is a god of metamorphosis. When he grabs you, he will not let go until he is finished with you. With his mad gaze, your mind will be displaced, and with this displacement comes enlightenment. Madness reveals aspects of yourself that you never knew existed, and places in your mind you have avoided for so long. He will tell you “You are more than what you think you are” and he will prove it. You are more than just a poet, more than just a man, more than just a young person. It is a very painful process, but you will come out of it more strange, and more beautiful.

— A Mad Light, December 2011