| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. (1878–1962). Anthology of Magazine Verse for 1920. 1920. |
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| Sekhmet the Lion-Headed |
| | | Leonora Speyer |
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| IN the dark night I heard a stirring, | |
| Near me something was purring. | |
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| A voice, deep-throated, spoke: | |
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| I litter armies for all easts and wests | |
| And norths and souths: | 5 |
| They suckle my girl-goddess breasts, | |
| And my fierce milk drips from their mouths. | |
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| The voice sang: | |
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| I do not kill! I, Sekhmet the Lion-headed, I! | |
| But between my soft hands they die. | 10 |
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| I asked: | |
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| O Sekhmet, Lion-headed one, | |
| How long shall warring be? | |
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| And Sekhmet deigned to make reply: | |
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| Eternally! | 15 |
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| Bold in my faith I grew: | |
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| Dread goddess-cat, you lie! | |
| Warring shall cease! | |
| My God of love is greater far | |
| Than you! | 20 |
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| How gentle was the voice of Sekhmet then: | |
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| He of the Star? | |
| He Whom they called the Prince of Peace— | |
| And slew?— | |
| And slew again—and yet again?— | 25 |
| Ah, yes!—she said. | |
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| And all about my bed | |
| The night grew laughing-red: | |
| Sekhmet I did not see | |
| But in that bleeding dusk I heard | 30 |
That Sekhmet purred.
Contemporary Verse | |
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