Bits of Yarn, Calico and Velvet Scraps                                                            Page 24

A NOTE ON THE GODDESS ISHTAR:

Ishtar ... is addressed by devotees as a source of divine

power and sovereignty embodied in female form, and

praised as a deity who performs the divine works of

dividing heaven from earth, setting captives free, waging

war, establishing peace, administering justice, exercising

judgement and enlightening human beings with truth,

along with presiding over birth, healing the sick and

nurturing the little ones.

Elizabeth A Johnson,

She Who Is (New York: Crossroad: 1993) pp. 55-56

Crucified

'Like a dead fish

that's how I feel

like writing down "Dead Fish"

nailing it to a tree

and tearing it into crumbs of words.'

And I would take those scraps of bread

throw them into a living stream

so that the fish could eat

and live again.

Nick Sykes