1. For Hekate

I call the beloved goddess of the roads
and places where three ways meet. Heavenly,
earthly, and in the sea, the saffron-cloaked
goddess of graves, performing the Bacchic
rites with the souls of the dead. The daughter
of Perses, lover of solitude, who
delights in deer, the nocturnal goddess,
protector of dogs, implacable queen
roaring like a beast, with image ungirt
and irresistible. Bull-herding queen
and key-bearer to all the universe,
ruler, nymph, and nursemaid who haunts the hills.
I pray you, maiden, to attend these rites,
always with a kind heart to your oxherd.