The Anima Mundi

The Anima Mundi is an ancient idea about an intrinsic connection between all living things that permeates and animates the material world analogous to the relationship between the body and soul.

Locked down during the pandemic and inspired by Greek mythology, this poetic short story imagines an Anima Mundi journey across a 24 hour earthscape.

Polar Dawn
Above, emerges Eos’ blue tiara
Chione exhales slumbering blizzards below.
Suddenly, she stirs; ice pops, cracks, collapses.
She yawns; glacier calves off like abandoned babe.
Hibernating heartbeats turn palpitating panic
Will she fall back asleep for another Age?

Ocean Sunrise
Lost, and despair
In every direction, drowning out the horizon
Oceanus plays with iceberg toy.
Waves bite chunks, spit salty saliva
Digests into primordial depths.
Foundling rescued
By echolocations, escorting cetaceans
’Land ahoy!’ caws squadron of birds.
Melted fleet marshalled by Eos’ torches
Into amber embrace of shallower tides.

River Morn
Estuary swallows watery weary.
Tethys’ tributaries carve vascular passage
Peristaltic pulses massage lifeblood downstream.
Soils drink heartily from banks and shores.
Tribute Helios’ yellowy reign
Gentle meander; strength restored.

Woodland Noon
Helios’ crowning invigorates flora
Sap summoned from roots by dazzling golden rays.
Bulbs burst, fruits swell
Resins release innocent smells.
Birdsong praises, branches begin
Whispering blessings to the king.

Rainforest Aft
Fauna find refuge from Helios’ rage
Where Lelantos lurks under sticky swamp shade.
Insect din, hiding in
Deafening breeze;
Suffocating hiss
Camouflaged daren’t breathe.
Canopy chatter calls to pray
Emerald eyes scan for prey.
Then race, chase
Only fittest escapes.

Savannah Eve
Grazing grassy sparse shrubs
Thirsty migration, endless plain.
Hyades refill pubs
Weep sympathy to quench herd’s pain.
Splash and play, pups revive
Adults grateful to survive.
Scarlet sky cries thunderous relief
Animals rest; finally, sleep.

Desert Sunset
Oasis reveals arid mirage.
Choirs chirp: water evaporated
Reptiles rattle: land dehydrated.
Green ravines roasted brown
Baked mud crumbles canyon rocks.
Totem hoodoos watch
Mandala dunes rise and fade
Like geologic time-lapsed waves.
Vultures scavenge Promethean carrion
Life decomposes death.
Helios waves pink goodbyes to the day
Who’ll guard the throne when the king’s away?

Volcano Dusk
Dusty sand turns ash
Ground groans, gasses fury
Tyrannically hot, terra-fying beauty.
Arteries gush lava
Veins ooze magma goos.
Bleeding cools and slows
Scabbing pumice clots.
Purple twilight Astraeus blows
Conceals Ares’ plots
Casting cauldron crater spell
Abiotic secrets spill.

Mountain Night
Bulging crust births Ourea
Avoiding abysmal Tartarus.
Ice crawls, claws, fights frosty ascent
Until Uranus kisses
Snow soft fontanels sparkle creation
Black space provokes anxious separation.
Nurse Selene comforts
Spilt milk illuminates sky.
Chronus turns zodiac piano roll
Celestial chorus sings lullaby.

Gaia’s Vigil
Above, Eos adorns once again
Aurora dances ghostly green flame.
Man-made candles, holy glow
Line Gaia’s deathbed below?
No!
It’s man who’s deathly; she holds vigil to his hubris
Releasing trauma through thawing catharsis.
What’s a doomsday on the cosmic clock
When epochs pass with each tick tock?
What’s Anthropocene to a mother of Titans?
Nemesis is godsent to punish and frighten.
Washing away man’s blood as menstrual flow
Another cycle of life she readies to go.