Goddess

Goddess of stone
in the secret heart
of the forest,
Forgotten altar
that has tasted
blood of a thousand men.
She is
Idol, temptress, vision
Nightmare.
Possessed of a great
and terrible beauty
Love and death
entwined.
Red dazed eyes
and lolling tongue
Unrestrained tresses
Black as night
She is eternal, perfect
The beginning and the end.
Beware, careless traveller!
Stumbling upon
the sacred cove
Quietly, quietly
Lest your footsteps
should wake Her.