This Time I Shall Devour Thee Utterly, Mother Kali!

This time I shall devour Thee utterly, Mother Kali! For I was born under an evil star, And one so born becomes, they say, the eater of his mother. Thou must devour me first, or I myself shall eat Thee up; One or the other it must be. I shall besmear my hands with black and with black my face; With black I shall besmear the whole of my body. And when Death seizes me, with black I shall besmear his face. O Mother, I shall eat Thee up but not digest Thee; I shall install Thee in my heart And make Thee offerings with my mind. You may say that by eating Kali I shall embroil myself with Kala, Her Husband, but I am not afraid; Braving His anger, I shall chant my Mother's name. Come what may, I shall eat Thee up — Thee and Thy retinue — Or lose my life attempting it. [Translated by Elizabeth U. Harding]