2005 LUGHNASADH/IMBOLC LONG POEM ENTRIES

[Crow]

Notice: Please post your long poems for the current Eisteddfod here. Long poems must be over 30 lines:

[Draghkar]

Our Trouble is no more
Oh, what a loss this is
Our Trouble is no more
You are really what I miss.

No more screaming in the morning
No more running all around
No more asking for your food
With your utmost pitching sound

No more pissing off the neighbours
No more digging up their plants
No more running 'cross the street
To hide from his cussing and his rants

No more stealing food while we were cooking
No more licking clean the plates
No more knocking things off the table
because you just couldn't wait.

No more watching tv togother
No more purring until late
No more licking my head when i come home
Because your love is oh so great

Our Trouble is no more
We found you on the roof so high
our Trouble is no more
Without life in either eye

Poisoned you were
The vet told us then
Who would do such a thing
To my little friend

Our Trouble is no more
We DO miss you little brat
our Trouble is no more
rest in peace, my brother cat

[Rydel]

What happened to the dreams we used to dream?
We watched the sunrise
With our tired eyes,
Hearts flooded with feelings we did not know how to glean.
The tears I cried the other night
Cleansed me of all the fright (it seems).
How could I forget what this was all about?
Blinded by the flash of that expected route
Forced upon me by my own ambition and pride.
I tried to take all of it in stride,
But instead tears flowed free of my soul,
Washing away all I used to hole,
What I knew would come, away.
A rendition of my life sung by a choir
Portrays me simply as a liar.
I wish that I knew what to say!
Is this enlightenment,
Or disillusionment?
The first steps of a saint,
Or just my footprints in the paint?
Tears make things clear when emitted from my eyes
But when they stain your face, my soul is lit by fireflies.
I cannot let this die
I cannot let you cry
There is no way to end this now
Here, there will be no final bow.
You have won me back again!
You made me remember, it seems.
And again we dream our dreams,
As we watch the sunrise
With our tired eyes.
And now I learn to sing again.

[Ai-Ante]

West of Devore

Anchored out on western shore
A leagues draft from Port Devore,
Sun wept crimson upon the stern
I have nothing more to learn.

Sand swelter blinding my face
Foot step hidden by wind disgrace,
Up into the mountain’s heart I lift
To the hands of God, certain and swift.

Upon the peaking point I raised
Down into the valley I gazed,
Devore a shadowing light
The streets dimming down bright.

To the barrier of the mount I come
Where horse of moon meets horse of sun,
Into the caverns of old I sweep
Out into the stony balcony I weep.

Oh, Ellone, all here is now ruin,
And to Neverast you were drew in!

Here in our ancient home
I wondered like a queen bee’s drone,
For I believed I would find you
Your pale skin still so fair and true.

But alas, all here is cold and hard
And now I look back on the tale of the bard,
A brief shudder rises in my mind,
I shall go to Neverast and battle time!

I left our home upon the lonely mount
Passed through Devore without a doubt,
And to the old ship I crept
Set sail and out to sea I leapt.

Ellone, I sail to Neverast for you,
Nothing to abate me but the morning dew.

There is still more for me to learn.

[MaiaElan]

By the Light...


By the light of the silvery moon
there came one night
a knock, knock, knocking
at my own back door

Beneath the stormy heavens
and within the grasp of thunder
I knew that all too well
There could be no other

So I drew closer
to the knock, knock, knocking
Whilst my heart grew ever louder
and my fears took flight
by the light of the silvery moon

Then the crack of lightning
and a flash of his eyes
shone through the wondow
of my own back door
and the knock, knock, knocking
matched the ever louder pounding
of my heart
as I fell to the floor

In the morning
in the dew
and the sunny misted hue
they heard a tale
of events the night before

That the storm
had put a fright on me
My heart
so frail before
How pain had simply blighted me
and I could stand no more

They did not know
about the knock, knock, knocking
or the flash of his eyes
that I still stood standing
when my soul from me he prised
How I laughed and we danced
as the hourglass turned
by the light of the silvery moon

So when the next storm beckons
the light from the heavens
and you hear
a knock, knock, knocking
at your door

Look up to the light
of the silvery moon
and know that death comes to
dance with us all

July 2001

[MaiaElan]

Okay, so this has no rhythm and no structure, but I wrote it a long time ago when I was a bit poorly in the head!






Dragonfly


Her name was Maya

She spoke to angels and they listened
Sometimes they'd smile
because they knew the lessons to be learnt
were a mystery to her
Sometimes they smiled simply
because they loved her
Sometimes they wept
because her pain was almost too much to bear

She sensed they were real
She believed
She reasoned her belief as psychosis
She could feel them

Maya played a song
that she called Dragonfly
She dreamt a dream
where she was called
beckoned by this gift of transformation
She danced an illusion
in the flight of a dragonfly
and led by the beat of his wings
her heart became the drum to which she danced
chanted
baying at the moon
singing her song into the star filled sky
awaking every hidden place

She met a man whom she knew
from another tale, another time
She did not speak his tongue, but knew it still
Maya understood every word
because she read his language with her eyes
He smiled and discs of rich earth
spun a tale across his face
and Maya understood

She knew who they were
A pebble on the beach
A pebble in the river

Sometimes Maya felt so screwed up
not sure if she would make it through the night
Her thoughts, so loud, so confusing
Like there was someone else inside her head
She grew accustomed to the phases of clarity
It didn't bother her that mental stability evaded her every search
What did bother her
What really bothered her
was when lunacy leapt on her back and screamed her name in a hundred thousand languages
Feeding lines of incomprehensible madness into her mind
invading her, eating away at her core
As though she were the harvest
and the demons had suddenly got hungry
Ravenous
How could she defend herself?

Maya spoke to angels

xx

[Skylark]

I hope it's OK to enter a poem that's already been posted on another thread? If not I'm sure someone will let me know...

Vernal Equinox

The kitchen needed scrubbing,
So I thought, “I know –
Some music would be good – ”
And I chose E.L.O.

That song was on, back when we played
Pool in the bar;
I was a raw beginner, and you
Were a star.
I sat beside you on the ride home
In the car…
I wanted your first kiss – but not
To go too far.

You kissed me in the lane just by
The garden gate!
My heart first stopped, then set off at
A scary rate;
My ribs were filled with lightning, and
The jolt was great –
But then I ran indoors before it
Got too late.

And every day that week, over and over, I
Re-lived that moment, and allowed
No-one to pry
Into that secret fantasy that
Raised me high
And filled my ribs with lightning from
A loaded sky!

I wanted to be chaste until my
Wedding day,
A thought that filled you with impatience
And dismay.
Our fun in being friends then paled
And died away;
We were revealed as strangers with
No more to say.

You dumped me to save face among
Your teenage throng.
I may have cried (from wounded pride) –
But not for long;
It didn’t really hurt me – I was
Quickly strong…
But our short dates together live
Inside this song,

And you were quite forgotten till I
Heard that track,
And I’m amazed how easily it
All comes back!
The lightning in my ribs I feel – but
Not the lack
Of depth; I smile, and cannot paint
The picture black.

Today, I guess you have your share
Of mundane life:
Still haven’t paid the mortgage off;
An ageing wife,
And teenage kids who give you seven
Kinds of strife;

And though our short romance met such
A silly end
And always, since, I’ve thought you bad,
I must unbend,
As (clad in Marigolds) a grinning
Hour I spend
With lightning in my ribs! I wish you
Well, old friend.

[Underground River]

The Confrontation

I stood at the edge
Of a great wood
Feeling finally at home
Finally understood
A voice came to me
Clear in my ears
"who are you, why are you here?"
"I am a druid to be," said I
"A bard, then an ovate, then a druid by and by"
"How do you figure that?" asked the voice
"You just make promises you can't keep, and childish noise"
I stood there, surprised and my feelings quite hurt
"You are so mean!" was what I did blurt
"You think you understand the ways of the old
You are so young so green and so bold
You presume to know anything about anything
Go back home, and do your false pretentious thing"
I turned from him then, to my home I did flee
Crying so hard, I could not at all see
I bashed into a lady, walking alone
She asked me why I was crying and running home
"I am not a druid!" I wept
"He says that I'm childish, and that my promises are not kept"
She held me then, saying "what does he know?
He's just a mean man who likes to hurt those
Who would walk by his clearing and pause, a question to ask
He tells them what they don't wish to hear, and then alas
They come running and crying to me
And I comfort them and set their souls free
"Are you magical?" I asked her with fear
She smiled, whispered yes in my ear
I trembled and tried then to flee
But she said "fear not, I will not hurt thee"
Her arms went about me in a tight embrace
She held me fast, and happiness replaced
The sadness and loneliness I had felt
I thanked her then as my heart did melt
I went back to the clearing, the man to confront
"Back for more?" he challenged, "You pathetic little runt?!"
"Yes sir," said I, eyes burning with rage
"you hurt my feelings, you wretched pseudosage!
So go away, wise guy, get out of my clearing
Or that lady yonder will pay you a visit, I'm fearing
She'll tell you in magic what I'm telling you in speech
She'll cut you, and hurt you, her lesson to teach
So go away now, you miserable man
Get out of here, as fast as you can!"
At my words of anger the pathetic man did run
Watching his frantic flight was really quite fun
He ran until he was completely out of sight
Out of sight, out of mind, my spirit felt light!
I knew that my sacred grove would always be free
From taunts and tormentors, monsters like he
I knew that I would finally be
Able to follow my path of druidry!
June 28, 2005.

[ideagirl]

Triskele

When I was a child (this is true)
I crouched by the window, a jar in my hand,
And tried to fill it with moonlight
And trap the light with the lid.
I wasn’t sure it was possible,
Or that it wasn’t.

It wasn’t. But now
It doesn’t have to be.
Six words convey my new-found creed:
Some things don’t belong in jars.

When I was not used to
My body, I tested
Fingers in fan-blades, spectacular falls.
Each limit imposed, I madly resisted
Exploring the edges of time, love and debt.
The patience of earth I could not abide,
Nor laws, nor rules, nor simple facts.

The wise one bides this simple law:
The limits of a thing define its shape.
A rhythm is both beats and silence.
The notes not played create the song.

When I was in shadows, I pitied the sun
Its bright frankness,
Its glinting, its hope.
I grieved in advance for soon-to-die plants
And heard the clang of the ending
In every beginning: merry you meet, but
Once married, you’ll part.

You parted a curtain
In my heart, and the inrushing Sun
Scrubbed the floor, watered plants,
Planted trust in beginnings, within every ending.
So in perfect love, we’ll return to dust,

To dear Ainè the wild, with thorns in your hair,
To the Green Man in brightness, and the Hunter’s dark lair,
To Brighid the maker, the melter, the gold—
Tangled in my cells are letters from you
And a dark, bright voice that could be my soul.

[MaiaElan]

WOOOOH!! WOOOHOOOOHOOOWOOOOOOHOOWOOOOOOO!!!!








Bravo!

[DaRC]

Evil (Nid) Blows (Hogg)

There are these three, Dragon's un-rare,
that lay over once green Britain.
Two together lie belly bare:
the red, the white, third is Tarmac-master.
There are three wyrms who race faster.

The scarlet drake slithers hither,
sliding past the mercury sprites.
The snowdrop drake slithers thither,
his eyes do blast the stars, the moon
until moths faint and wise owls swoon.

Wyrms so wily ride society
who think they drive: delusional
in the harness, humanity
pulling crimson, pushing whitelight
rushing thru' the night now bright.

Underneath both lies his evil flow,
that crept out from beneath the crust
a world enslaver, he sprawled slow:
Din creator, Goh espier
Nid the liar, Hog the rager.

What a gusher, an age he ushered,
from the hot, cruel, empty desert
into the world this he offered:
travel at the speed of sight
selfishness beyond delight.

There was a girl all tender and bright,
her hair did shine, her gown was fine
with honeysuckle garland tight
and a green sewn of nature's weft.
Such beauty made man's breath bereft.

Her land brought forth wond'rous aspect,
showered joyful vistas, tastes divine,
a lifetimes work just to inspect
the dance eternal: whirligig,
honey buzz and mossy jig.

She danced around her land so fine
innocent, smooth her movements spare
and upon her gown stars did shine.
Until one night, despite the warnings,
she danced on sand under awnings.

From the sand crept Nidhogg's hand.
Nidhogg the rude taught her cruder
embalmed, entwined, in rubber bound:
Britannia, the S-M'er,
seduced, reduced. Our poor flower.

I wish so well to break this spell
but Nidhogg gnaws, her gown he paws,
his two drakes mesmerise well
she believes in their horse power:
mechanical over flower.

I wish so well to break his spell
also I'm bound to wyrm sounds,
those rev's and honks. It flies so well.
It wheels and carts, grumbles and farts
these machined parts rule our hearts.

"And of our minds?" you question
well our minds are fascinated
with dragon incantation:
we are the road masters, the asphalt blasters
you mess with we, we shoot you down.

And so these three, rule over we
and to their tune most workers swoon
then tear their hair and swear to be
the righteous ones whose engine guns
kill wyrm-less sons, innocent ones.

[MorningStar]

Guardians of Love

From your graces I have hid
For crying is all I could have did
Pride refuses me even to myself
Passion’s shame placed me
On thy lover’s shelf

Your words I did no longer hear
You read my pain and
As you did…
You made me fear

Showing pity to no heart
Tossed about the floor
Sharing kindness you have refused
And to no longer show the open door

Cry me a river for you once have said
Cried you an ocean’s rage instead
From the ocean refusing to gather my tears
From my heart you gather
The fears of our peers

Pathways we should have not walked
Patterns of life I will have chalked
Racing from all life herself
Riots raised in hearts once more
As you became pain it self

Yesterday you came to my heart no more
Yore is the years that pass
As I cry come to me no more…
I deplore

Seizing all light of our day
With candle’s light I will pray
Shadows you have cast upon my sight
So I could no longer see my way

Keeper’s of hearts…
Keeper’s of pain…
“Oh tell me what have we gained”

Kinsmen of Spirit…
Kinsmen of Kings…
Who have refused to your rein of pain
They decide who is to be ordained

Carry on is what I must do
For my lovers vows is
No longer my shroud
Compassion both friend and foe
Breezes among that,
That is my cloud

Slumber of the eternal…
Allow thy mischief-makers to play in
Shimmering pools of hearts…
Of red and gray
That lay a waist on the clay

Thy mischief-makers make sport
Of these hearts…
Of red and gray
Like billiard footballs
Kicked into play

A single ray of light
Glowing so bright
Kissing my brow
Blessed be their light of love
Sent from above

Finding once more a glimmer of faith that
One day I may be at loves sweet side
Farming the shields from your cruel grasp
While damming your negative tides

Caring for the Blessed light
By day and night
Guarding it for those
Whose love is ordained

Cast this empty shell to the oceans of pain
When this body’s life has drained
Know me my love’s dreams and
Deliver me from this world
Into love’s arms so dear

Known my deeds will not be
Caring not as long as love
Still lives in hearts we have guarded here
In the chambers of Love’s domain

[MorningStar]

Good-Bye Sweet Gentle Spirits

Watching the tree leaves glow in the light of the moon,
Watching their branches sway back and forth in the breeze,
The smell of the morning dew forming on the ground,
I sat in awe, I sat in piece, the pipe Prayers I then began.

My eyes surveying the land as with each pipes breath a prayer is spoken,
One by one they came for one final farewell,
The Spirits of the Forest demanding to be seen and heard,
I was not going to leave this land with out their blessings or farewells.

The radaric flyers of the night were first, three tiny yet beautiful bats,
Swooping around my head, with aerobatic feats of delight,
Again I inhaled and spoke another prayer to the sky
They flew until from my sight they vanished in the night.

Old and wise my friend and neighbor the great barn owl came,
Setting himself upon the ground before me,
Hooting out his fond farewell as he bowed with a majestic nature,
Another prayer spoke for my brothers and sisters of the wild lands.

As he groomed his handsome plumage, brother crow was not to be left out,
He too wished to be heard and seen landing next to wise old friend owl,
Cawing three times then nestled down for a nap,
Listening to me sing out my prayers, while the smoke clung to his wings.

I could hear the sound of rustling in the newly growing cornfield,
It was sister fox chasing her family’s dinner,
Out of the field came bounding at blind speed was little brother hare,
I blew the prayer smoke in brother’s direction calming his speed.

As I spoke another prayer both sister fox and brother hare gathered,
Brother Hare to the east of me, sister fox to the west of me,
Brother crow remained southeast of me and friend owl southwest,
Another Pipe breath, another Prayer, to the Great Spirits.

And as if I had not felt blessed enough, the king of the woodlands
appeared, gracefully he approached, before me stood the King due south,
to my amazement a bow to me, lowly human servant
Of the Great Spirits, with a puff and prayer he laid down.

Tears began to flow for to be so blessed by the Great Spirit’s of this their beautiful lands,
Now the prayers rolled off my tongue and smoke rose to the skies,
The moon now shining directly on my face, the Great Spirit’s show they are pleased,
My body tiring now and consciousness leaves this frail frame.

Dreams of running with brother wolf and sister buffalo swirl in my head,
Wild, and free of my daily and physical trappings,
The smells of a fresh kill, food to fill my spiritual being,
The Great Spirit’s sacrifice, a buffalo calf to feed my wild spirit.

The taste of sweet meat filled my mouth as I devoured my gift,
I could feel strength returning to my body and to my spirit self,
Strong I grew with each bite of flesh,
My stomach now strechted and bloated, not one more bite could I take.

In the distance the sound of hungry wolf pups waiting to be fed,
Slowly I lumbered to the sound of the pups,
Each nipping at my muzzle, hungry for a meal,
I emptied my stomach as new foundling children ate of the spirits of the land.

The light of dawn now woke me from my peaceful slumber,
The Hawk soaring just ever so above me, screeching out the new day,
Demanding his turn to say farewell,
As I watched him fly into the dawning sun, I too said my final farewell.

Good-bye sweet gentle spirits of this land I love so much.

[MorningStar]

Love Unrequited

He started his life anew just as we all do,
He grew healthy and strong secure in his wold,
He touched many a friend’s heart with his smile,
He touched them with his genteel ways.

His childhood that of which was one
So rich and full of flavor from all spices of life,
Wanting for nothing and yet yearning
For what those things he did not know.

He glided through his schooling ever pushing forwards
His search for knowledge and truth of this his world,
He strove to understand as much as
He could of his world of that olden day.

So a man he became strong and true like the mighty oak
He fashioned his life like his father before him,
He rose with the sun and worked till his day was done,
Never complaining of the pain that had been spun.

One day he walked in his favorite of parks,
The day shown bright and the breeze blew cool,
He spotted his love by the pond feeding the doves
With swans a waiting their turn and geese squawking
And honking what a site to see this damsel in fowl distress.

Shooing the fowl beast with each step he took closer,
There must have been hundreds of honking and squawking and chirping
Beast yet all they could see was the eyes and smile of the other
Cupid’s arrow flew straight and true to the hearts of these two lovers.

Day’s and night’s they spent walking the paths of that park,
Weeks turned to months and months to years,
Finally he drew courage and spoke his pleas of marriage
Family’s meeting and greeting food and drink by the wagonloads.

A date was set the happy couple soon to be one,
Family planning drew attention to the need of a house,
So his eager hands began to build for his love a home
Like no other with windows of large to let the sunshine
In on his love and casting such a warm glows upon her beauty.

He worked day and night for a whole year building their dreams,
He toiled when others would not have done so,
Neighbors complained of noises in the night
Of pumpity thumpity poundings of his hammer,

Most times he could be seen working and toiling alone.
Dreaming of the day the house would be done
So he could marry he true sweet love,
A family home is what he built bedrooms of five
One to share with his wife and four for their children.

The day had come at last…the work now all done
He rushed word to his love and bride to be
But no word came back
He sat and waited days and no word.

He sent another letter begging her to answer fearing the worst
He dreamt of horrible things that could have happened to her
He begged himself not to think in those ways for he could not
Bare his true love passing so soon before being wed.

He waited a whole year once more before word had come
He held her letter and trembled with fear of her words,
He sat on his magnificent grand porch on the top step,
He sat alone as the sun was about to set.

He opened his letter from his love with caution,
He held it for a bit longer before he began to read her words,
Tears fell down this giant of a man’s face
As he read her words that broke his heart.

“I can not join you Dearest of John.
For I am married to your best friend Tom.
You spent so many days and nights building that
House and forgot I needed you too.”

“Tom has been good to me and with a baby now due
You can see that I can not join you
No not me.
Look for a new love for that is what I have done.”

He sat and crumpled the letter and began to shout out
His pain so the world would hear him
He swore off love and took a new road
He befriended hate for all living kind with warm souls.

His anger grew, as did his age,
His hatred became all he knew of life,
His learning stopped his yearning for life left him
Empty and cold as a tin can man….

He took this anger out to the world
Never forgiving her or any others
He died angry and bitter taking only his
Hatred for all life so his spirit lingered on
Driven by his hatred for one and all
For whom he could not forgive.

[MorningStar]

i have said it many times, you folks are amazing what wonderful thoughts, such works of art and th heart

[Underground River]

Take My Hand

Take my hand
Let me guide thee
On a journey
Of discovery

Let your heart open
To the music
Let your mind open
To the flowing

Your heart is small with fear
Your mind is closed with panic
Take my hand, feel the energy
Radiating, from me to you

Deep in sadness dwell no more
Rise to the surface, soft and buoyant
Let your heart go to the wind
Let the fire in, let it burn

Take my hand, all is ok
Don't be afraid, little one
Sorrow's history, future's mistery
Passed is experience, present is lovely

Thoughts are weeving, ever conceiving
New and great ideas
Fingers dance, upon the keyboard
Let the flow keep flowing

When you enter the sacred pool
Feel no fear, feel embraced
Feel the tide of love a-pullin''
You toward a sacred place

Try relaxin', breathe out slowly
Let yourself go, go, go, go!
Hear the singing, in the distance
Feel the music, flow, flow, flow!
July 3, 2005.

[Underground River]

The Beach Part 3

My Consciousness merges with the sea
I am a drop of water on her waves
I move up and down, up and down
In the rhythm I always loved
I sleep in the ocean for many years
Always being a wave
Then one day
In the cold winter months
I am reborn
I have a tiny shell
A soft inner body
I am helpless as a newborn babe
I slowly make my way to shore
Borne by the loving tides
I land on a strip of soft sand
Amung others of my kind
And others not of my kind
I sit there for what seems like only a few minutes
Then, suddenly
I hear the crunching sound of human steps
My heart quakes with fear
I remember this day
But last time I was the human
Now I am the shell creature
A foot descends and crushes me
And I am ended there
But in my dying ears
I hear the sound
Of angry shell creatures eating
The human who would dare to step on and crush me
I know they will drag her into the sea
And she will become me
In time.
April 21, 2005.

[Laurelin Tauregwaithalion]

Ahh... these are lovely!!

That's a great tribute to Trouble. (((hug))) A big hug and lots of love from his non-twin, Olorin!

--Laurelin Linrilwen Tauregwaithalion

[Laurelin Tauregwaithalion]

I was originally going to enter my poem for Ruby here, but I think, in light of Draghkar's beautiful tribute to Trouble, that I might just wait until next time. We don't want to remember this as "the Eisteddfod of the lost pets" do we? Someone remind me to enter it next time, okay?

Love you all!

--Laurelin

[Alo Dichali Tiger]

This popped out of my head for some reason about 9 months ago. I have no idea where it came from or why I wrote it. I usually can not do poems

The Guide
I am the beacon in the darkness
To those who wish to follow their unknown path
I am he who holds the torch that lights their way
I am there for those who wish to journey
Along paths they can not yet see
I walk beside those who seek direction and light
To behold the hidden truths and tasks

Though my life is long
And I have traveled many journeys
Each charge brings their happiness, sorrow and pain to me
I must bear their burden with them
Allowing to them release their inner struggles
Loving them as few others will
I keep them safe and protected from harm
So they may grow and change
From caterpillar to butterfly
From ugly ducking to magnificent swan

With each long and hard path I travel
The work I perform is simple but tiresome
I stay in the shadows but away from evil
Few are called to my task
Even fewer can bear the torch for as along as I
Though my time is short with each who finds me
I experience a lifetime of deep attachment with each one
Every sacrifice I must make
Takes them closer to their true path
I am one who must be left behind
For others to bear the fruit of truth and light

As my charges leave my side
To bear a torch of their own
Tears of sadness stream down my face
But the sadness soon turns to joy
Seeing another become what they should be
Joy fills my heart as I watch their light
Recede into the distance of the vast universe
My heart sings with pride seeing them
Spread their wings and soar amongst the stars.

Though the spark of love has faded
And the mystical bond between us had been broken
The memories still linger
Lives gone by pass before me again and again
And lost love remains heavy in my heart

One journey ends but my work is not done
Soon the journey begins again as another seeks me out
And the cycle begins anew for me once more.
Another burden to bear
Another spirit desperate to find its way
Another journey, down another path
So many have I traveled with
I must bear the burden none the less

I am he who is not known or recognized
But known to all when the need is there
To seek the light and the path they must travel
I show the way but do not impose
My charges choose their own way
Some return for a short time
Others come to be beside me for a while longer
As their hearts are troubled and require direction
But they must leave again to travel their own path

I am the guide
The one who holds the torch and shows the way
To those seeking their own way
But can not find it alone.