2007 SAMHUINN/BELTANE LONG POEM ENTRIES

[Earthwoman]

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

[magma]

HELOISE & ABELARD

They say it was love…
The voices attached to eyes
Who never saw him and me together
Never heard our voices
But who have read our words…
Or what they think are our words
Those eyes through hunger devour
Page after page
Word after word
Say it was love
Not content with the tale
Over centuries spun
Not content with the proof
That lies in their hands
They wanted the story to continue
For our love to continue
Or their love to continue…
Their love affair with love

Through fascination
Our resting remains they moved
Not once but many times
They wanted us to be together
In death
As we had never been in life
They laid us side by side
For all eyes to see
Unashamed and on show
Under rock made banners
A rigid fanfare
A monument to love
Rising way above
The humble stones
Of far greater loves
Gone unnoticed by their worship
These quiet people who’s own letters
Own words are lost
This is the price we pay
For our fame

We paid the price then
And still pay it now
As flowers whose ancestors were known to us
Touch our stony limbs
Thrown by arms still allowed to touch
To show their love
To act upon their passion
For it matters no more
Who receives that passion
Oh to live now!
But instead
We lie cold and unfeeling
Frozen in our chastened state
They mock us
Holding their lovers’ hand
As they gaze at us
Insisting we lie side by side
Unable to touch
How they taunt us
With their pilgrimage to love

The true Romeo and Juliet are we
And yet what do they truly know?
I wonder would they still come
And throw their flowers
If they knew…
Their rosy hew
Would fade as real petals do
As the petals thrown upon me
And this man by my side
Left to wilt and die
Upon those already dead
Along with their daydreams and fantasies
Of the story they think they know

But I shall refrain
Good Monsieur and Madame
Spare you the words you do not want to hear
Think what you will
Let your thoughts mingle
With those of many like you
Who through the years
Of history passing
Have given light
Regardless if right
For the centuries have been unkind
They have made the world older
But not wiser
And yet the living still place hope
In the dead
Making saints out of sinners
Is time forgiving?
Or could it be the human race…
Dream of something that can never be theirs
For it was never ours
Never mine
Never his

But I shall say no more
Keep truth in silence
And leave you to your dreams
I will sit here beside you
And feel your hope breathe life
Sweet life in others
For it is hope and faith
When fused together
That creates love
Maybe it shall be you
They worship in centuries to come
You and the soul interrupting your thoughts
So let yourself dream
As I once dreamed
Wait for your hope and faith
To be fulfilled
The way you know it can
For you must believe

You are here…


c JB 2007

[Dryadia2]

This poem is written from a Stone's point of view, (and stones don't always rhyme). The stone is upright, about 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall (76-92 cm), on the border between a meadow and a forest.


Perceptions of a Stone

I Am - Stone.
Made of minerals,
Vibrating crystals,
Energy surging,
Sensing the seasons of change:
Winter's silence
Chill in the air
Freshness of scent
Snow everywhere.
A time for quiet contemplation...
Ah, but wait -
A gentle rain,
Cool and refreshing.
Spring bursts forth!
Life re-newed.
Bright green growth,
Cloak of moss,
Caressing body and spirit.
Fragrant blossoms
Sweetness of air
Musical sounds
Of life surrounds.
Warmth of the sun,
Days grow longer,
Activities heighten
Bathed in Summer.
Frequent visits from passers by:
Beings of flesh, fur, feathers, scales.
Sharing experiences,
Telling of tales.
With a turn of the wheel
It's harvest-time,
Golden fields and
Scent of wine.
Autumn arrives.
Yellow-Red leaves
Tumbling down,
Weaving a blanket for
Life underground.
The air is crisp.
The beings have gone
To warm cozy places.
In Winter, I stand alone.
They come and they go.
They live and they die.
Do they ever stop
and ask themselves why?
The passing of time
To them is so brief.
They experience emotions.
What is Happiness? Grief?
I've been here for eons,
Sensing the seasons of change.
Energy surging,
Vibrating crystals,
Made of minerals,
I Am - Stone.

[DaRC]

And in the dark
=============
And in the dark when the wind hools
the trees chatter, creak and clatter.
From knotty mouths mossy spit drools
and my heart, that once did pitter patter,
now silently booms. Whistling thru' brooms
that sweep air clean, once besom heaves,
'tis time to go lest Birch does swoons
and Oak, apple of eye, lost, leaves
ground, now shifting sodden. Softly should trees die.

And in the light when the breeze cools
the river rests, gently Roaches
kiss the surface, then probe the pools
and shoals of Rudd tails swishes
amongst reeds that hipsway deftly;
shushing warblers, their arch remarks
hung forgotten, phrases gently
warm marsh marigold's hanging barques;
all floating gold. Dryly wetlands cry.

And in the world when eco fools,
from knotted mouths "Greenpeace" clamour
as earth declines ignored by all,
my heavy heart sadness shatters.
Now silence glooms new dried wetlands
and forest glows; all hacked tatters
because bizness routed old fools -
young fools doubted - the rich must pay
for all their gold. Sadly druids try.

I saw the news today, extinction list updated
G'rillas, corals, vultures are all now rated
and in the dark, when the real fools
have utilised drunk power tools
that have sapped Urds 'limitless' well
who is the one, to children tell,
say "we're sorry, us foolish ones,
should've shouted louder at drones
who took it all for power and guns."

[pangurban]

The Woods on Samhain Night

I walk in silence through
the darkening wood
aware of the hush coming
over all creation
as the day draws to a close.
The first to go is the
chirping of the birds
as they prepare to roost
for the night,
then all is silent.
The shadows suddenly
hold all sorts of dangers
to catch me unawares,
and my senses are heightened
by the racial memories of my ancestor’s
fear of wolves and bears.
I take time to calm myself and move
onwards deeper into the wood,
to realise I have walked
out of this plane of existence
and entered spirits domain.
I find myself in a clearing bathed
in moonlights shimmering glow.
And before me is a glorious sight
Cernunnos standing
tall and proud bare of chest
muscles rippling but his legs
I am not sure if he is trewed
or is it fur that covers them.
Oh but his head his beutiful head
it is crowned with the glory
of seven tined antlers.
Radiating from him is the sense
of all that is wild and virile,
“are you afraid” he asks me,
I can only nod my head
as I am stunned into silence
“good” he replies as this a place
where wildness holds sway
“but you are here under my protection”.
Then behind him the shades
of my ancestors appear
to commune with me
this Samhain night.
Who did I see what did we talk of
that is for my eyes and ears
you would have seen
and heard differently.
Reality returns and I am sitting
under a tree covered in dew.
Was it a dream? Did it happen?
or was it imagination but all around me
are the hoof prints of a stag
and I smile to myself.

Pangur-ban 4/19/2007

[Twyrch]

PRECIOUS CHILD

Oh precious child, so frail and small,
I will protect you most of all.
Tucked deep within that secret place,
I can not wait to see your face.
You are my precious child.

To see you laugh and hear your cries,
I'll comfort you and dry your eyes.
To feel your touch against my arm,
Please know I'll keep you from all harm.
You are my precious child.

With pale blue eyes and golden hair,
You'll join this world without a care,
But know that you will be alright,
'cause I'll protect you day and night.
You are my precious child.

Dear Lord, watch o'er this growing child,
This wondrous gift so meek and mild;
And let it grow so big and strong,
To you, O Lord, all praise belong.
Please bless our precious child.

So give us now, our daily bread,
That we may walk the path you've tread.
Watch o'er our child, both day and night,
Protect it Lord, please, by your might.
Please bless our precious child.

I love this child sent down from Heav'n,
This perfect gift that you have giv'n.
So fill this life with your pure love,
Watch o'er it, Lord, from Heav'n above.
Please bless our precious child.

[Wailand]

Cerridwen

Upon a time the land was mine
And I did walk the snowy mountains high
Above the seas and planes
The crooked paths and there was naught
But endless I, the sun the stars and sea
A helpless child I had at home
Bourne in the dark of the moon
Who had not my beauty or pleasure
Or shape from nature’s treasure

But Afagddu was my own beloved child
And wisdom would he have in place of
Shallow beauty, to him would I teach
The names of the all the countless stars
The seven boundless seas their shifting sands
Of hidden knowledge
For such wisdom goes where beauty cannot reach
And only through pain do we inherit

With seers skill I could his fortune give
To dwell on blessed wisdom’s throne
And through great works in glory he would live
His lips would mighty poet’s rivers flow
Of songs of mortal things unknown
His eyes would see beyond the dark
And gaze into the sun
For this, for him would I give my skin, my bone?

Out of dark, out of forest, I walk beside the frozen lake
To find that later cursed boy
Leading a blind man on a string of duty
Bound together him through darkling need
Else groping through the ever night
His age gives way to beauty’s greed

With crooked hand and maiden breast I
Tempt them to my willing help
One year and one day the contract
To labour at my cauldron fire
To work my Awen song
Fire to tend and pot to boil
All the night and all the day long
Such baneful curse I told that night
Kept warm with endless guile
Should seething of the Cauldron fail
My awful curse would fall
Upon their heads if they should spill or taste
One drop of seething bile

Again into the deep velvet night of gathering
Pale herbs and pure water afar the night
In beauty’s cloud a wind of hopeful needful travelling
Again unto the hut with load to scatter in the brew
While dark against the pile of logs my servant boy
His eyes did blind with my nakedness and ghostly fogs of fear
They watched me stir and roil and stir
All the dark night through
The old man slipped and turned in sleep
Cried out in drunken dream
I left them with the screech of owl
And the first wet touch of dew

Day follows night and seasons slowly turn
The winter cold fled north with spring
And garlic wild about the woodland path was strewn
I felt a dreadful empty fear that day
As to the hut I flew
And hateful child with fingers of presumption
So boiled the pot with raging logs the boil had spilled upon him
Three drops of sacred nectar
Three drops of timeless inspiration
Three drops of immortal wisdom
The broken vessel pieces rolled and spilled
With poison to the lake so black so cold!
A night of naught and labour lost
For my child – Afagddu!!

To all the gods of night I cried
To stars that winked down upon the mischief
Rending hair in wild rage I reached for him
White fingered hands of death sought him out
Screaming green eyes of envy turned toward his hiding
Flaming apart all that dared him conceal
There in the woods he ran from me with sweat cold fear he ran
But changed he was or seemed to move in ways more natural
Than a dull boy learning songs and stories
From an ancient man now dead
Beside my still raging fire!

A youth full grown he runs for life
And feels me in his liver
Out from the dark woods of youth
As arrow from the quiver
My magic working on his bones
Confirms that dreadful truth
Of what from cauldron deep he knew
Changed to hare with moon white fur
Against the black earth clods of land
Against the bare stalks of unturned harvest
And on into concealing night

Pitching forward I turned a night black hound
With claws that rent the clay
Red eyes and teeth to fix upon the neck
We chased the mile paths of the night
My breath upon his heels our hearts
Pounding as one heart
Twist and turning left then right until
The land gave place to water and I had him
So I thought in triumph of revenge
Like peal of bells resounding

Splashing through the shallow shore
With flash of star and moonlit scales
The hare becomes a fish!
That twists beyond my teeth
Buried in that foam his vanished paws
Had made before his fins replaced
He twists upon the silken current free
Instant I answered with a wild otter
Twisting through the weeds and water
Of churning mud and deep dark dreams

Flashing silver moonlight flickering
Splashing spray we upward wind our course
Where once the rolling meads gave way
Through bubbling hurling stony force
Between great rocks upon the hill
A waterfall he could not climb or leap
Emptied in a sudden circle pool
Cornered now at bay he finds
A churning cauldron for my black revenge

Where the spume meets moonlit water
Air and water run together
Fighting with the wet a flapping feather
Spraying drops in my red eyes
Mounting through the hanging boughs
Of hazel wand and waving willow
With wild relief a tiny wren
Escapes the trap into the dawn lit skies

Spirits of air I scream and call
Scythe my wings above the cloud
To me! I change to hawk of dawn
As mighty Merlin swift beyond compare
To kill the knavish wren the mouse like thing
That dares with this dull shape
The prize of inner vision wisdom win
With speed to match the Easter wind
Up through mighty endless Air
Who grinds the stone to wind blown sand
Snatching leaves from autumn trees
Carves their shape with unseen hand

Above the harvest golden fields
We spun the chase through cloud and
Gathering rain, the smoke of cleansing fires
Until with final swoop
I had him in my claws at last
But empty then my futile clasp
As to a tiny grain of winnowed wheat
Falls invisible to earth again
Landing lucky on the threshing floor
Lost in heaped new reaped grain

With folded wings I fall
Like shooting star to earth again
Swooping to that floor
Where as a tiny seed my object lay
And to a dawn crested rooster
That heralds the rising sun I crowed
And fell to my task
To sift and search and eat
The cursed changeling boy at last

Firelight fades with rising sun
And with the changing time
Swift transformations come
My enemy shrunken to a tiny mote
A hidden seed that helpless waits
On wide and waiting earth
My hate likewise could find no form
To gloat or fix upon,
My bile runs down into the ground
And shrunk like poisoned root
Beyond the rising sun of ripening
That nut and berry swells and corn
Full golden beard puts forth
And calms my hating heart
As I peck upon the grain
And felt within myself
I had him deep inside
Swallowed down
At last!

Nine moons that seed inside I bore
Nurtured hate replaced with life
In quiet calm I sit beside the lake
My eyes reflect the weaving water
Waiting, waiting son or daughter?
Contemplating past and future
Seasons passing slowly by
The wheeling stars all turn together
Deep dark velvet sky
Through rain then winter frost
With growing golden child
Like ray of vanished summer
My ancient rage is lost

Upon the rocks above the sea
In sandy cave the birth
Gave up my child of hate
Most swift and easily
Exhausted I held the crying form
Unnamed with tears confusion washed
His radiant brow, held close
And prophesy upon that touch
Of future life in my hands forlorn
Then sighing to my mind it came
That voice of wind and sea

“Send him to the sea you must
Beyond nine waves and trust
The green blue waves
To bear him high upon their crest
Fear not for the child you bore
In dark and doubt is blessed
Beyond the sight of mortal men
A light to all who seek
Fortune rules this turning tide
That draws him from your breast”

Slow I sewed him back
With seaweed thong
Into a womb of leather bag
To float away upon
The rocking cradle of the wave
Long time I stood upon that empty strand
To watch him drift into the west
Upon a glittering path
And wept

[katsu]

Perched upon a branch She waited,
for the mourners to pass by.
And finaly, upon day's renewal,
from the silver birch She did fly.


Towards the now lightless windowsill,
where the tiny one's died.
And as She there did landed,
that little soul starts to hide.


Entering the quite room,
Her feathers meld to skin.
Though She came to take that soul,
Her own feelings stir within.


This is the night of Samhain,
the veil is thin tonight.
The little soul knows and understands,
and walks up to Her side.


"When will I see them again?" she asks,
her eyes wander to the door.
The Ancient One looks down with love and says:
"you will see them again, as in the days of yore".


"You leave tonight close under my wing,
I'll take you to my home for now.
When time has come I'll bring you back,
to this I give you my vow".


Upon these words a tiny wren,
smallest of birds there stood.
She took her underneath her wing,
and flew towards the wood.


Now every year they fly on Samhains Eve,
towards that lightless windowsill.
And as long as that light has left,
They will be flying there still.


Ode to J.P.K*******
Mom, Wish you were still here.

katsu

[Abhaill]

CALL TO THE MORRIGAN

O Red One

Twilight has deeply fallen
A strong wind blows
I feel the earth
Beneath my feet

Shape-Shifter
Among the shadows
Between the trees
Shifting into the forest

A mouth in the earth
Framed by sloes
A wall of darkness
At the threshold

Red jasper cup
Filled with dark wine
Scented smoke
The pulse of a drum

Sword drawn
You are Challenge
Red Woman
You are Power

By Your presence
I am awe-struck
And I honour You
With passion

Goddess of Transformation
Alliance: Your gift
Rejection: Your risk
Revenge: Your curse

Tonight I offer You
My companionship
That You might touch me
With Your Ecstasy

Great Queen
Move aside me
And be welcomed here
This Samhain night


O Black One

Midnight has come
The fog creeping closer
I hear my breath
Muffled by the mist

Controlling One
Cutting a path
Through the bogland
Gliding across the moor

An elder tree
Solitary, blackened
Branches still
Of their own accord

Black obsidian blade
Dripping with blood
A crackling song
The flinch of a rattle

Poison-tipped
You are Battle
Night Raven
You are Dread

By Your presence
I am shaken
And I honour You
With respect

Goddess of Illusion
Invincibility: Your gift
Violence: Your risk
Cruelty: Your curse

Tonight I offer You
My bardcraft
That You might touch me
With Your Frenzy

Battle Raven
Move about me
And be welcomed here
This Samhain night


O White One

In the hours before dawn
Cold chills the bone
I see the river
Shining in the night

Pale Seer
Wading in the shallows
Icy, shimmering
Crouching beyond the bank

A silvery ford
Edged by hawthorn
Sacred bridge
And boundary line

White quartz mirror
A watery portal
Visions surfacing
The shiver of bells

In darkness
You are Death
Washer at the Ford
You are Fate

By Your presence
I am altered
And I honour You
With acceptance

Goddess of Invisibility
Release: Your gift
Loss: Your risk
Paralysis: Your curse

Tonight I offer You
My acknowledgement
That You might grant me
A long reprieve

Terror
Far ahead of me
Be welcomed here
This Samhain night


~ Abhaill

[City Druid]

Lost little flower



Lost little flower
all alone
but how you tower and bloom,
how you catch the eye
and inspire
all that passes by,

Lost little flower
all alone
but still you grow,
still you grow beneath our feet,
in the cracks in the broken flags
amongst the rush of the busy street,

Lost little flower
swaying back and forth,
beneath the glaring sun,
dreaming of better days
dreaming of meadow fields
and summer haze,

Lost little flower
how we stare
and how we gaze,
how we take for granted your beauty
and how we think you’re sent to us as a gift
from god or from natures gaiety
but how we never see
is how flower longs to be,
standing gracefully,
side by side
with roots entwined
to others the same as she.

O Lost little flower
autumn is hear,
time for you to bow your head
and sleep my dear,
lost little flower
so dry so withered,
dying beneath
the autumn glow,
time for you
to shed your seeds and go.

Lost little flower is no more,
she feel in a rain pour,
she scattered and spilled her seeds
as she hit the city floor,
the seeds blew and danced in the autumn breeze,
splashed between footsteps,
travelled from puddle to puddle
and drifted amongst the rolling leaves.

A mad rambler came to visit the city that day,
he chanted and sang
and jumped in a puddle of rain,
he splashed and shouted at the passers by,
he laughed and sang
and called them blind,
he stared deep into the puddle,
what joy filled is heart,
O what a find,
O what a treat
there stuck between his blistering toenail
and yellow feet,
was pour little seed,
O what joy,
what an excuse
for a celebration
and to crack open a bucket of mead

With his journey in his sight
and seed safely in his pocket,
he skipped and hoped
and a swung his bucket,
he danced merrily,
he swaggered
and dodged a flying bubble bee,
he sang a dodgy drunken melody
about a forgotten memory,
he talked to a passing oaken tree
and asked if he may pass thee,
he proposed a toast
to the ones he loved the most
and fell whilst taking a pee.

He awoke beneath the morning sun,
he awoke to the chorus
of the black birds song,
he shuck head
as he awoke from the dead,
he stood and stared, at the swaying grass,
he looked up to the oaken tree and asked,
what was I doing a sleep beneath thee,
he connected to the roots of the standing tree,
his mind filled with answer and glee,
as he remembered about poor little seed

he climbed over the style
into the meadow field,
he stood and listened for a while,
he breathed in and exhaled,
he pulled poor seed out of his pocket,
he gave thanks for his love
and thanks for his profit

The mad rambler
knelt before the sun ,
and with his bare hand he touched the earth,
he shed a tear,
as the love flowed though him, over him and out of him,
please take care of this seed
he said
as I know how loneliness feels,
I too,
long to be,
standing side by side
with my roots entwined
to others the same as me

He cupped seed in his hand
and with a gentle blow
he set her free,
so she could stand gracefully,
for ever more,
beneath the haze
of the meadow field

Lost little flower
is lost no more,
your find her
nodding back and forth,
beneath the warmth
of the knowledge of knowing ,
that when she falls,
when autumn calls
when the goddess blows
she will blossom and bloom
where ever she roams.

and for the lonely mad rambler,
his heart is filled by nature,
his eyes are filled by his goddess,
his madness is for the love of all existence
and his loneliness is in the love of all goodness




Tim Hall

[Eilthireach]

Samhain Night

The forest stands dark and silent
crows sail over empty fields
the world seems grey and deserted
can you feel the northern wind, my friend?

A sad round dance commences now
whirling dead leaves in circles
blowing dust and dirt ahead
announcing the season of decay and death

The dark moons are rising
the night of the year is near
the annual circle closes
there, where it just began

The worlds come closer
the veil flutters and tears in the wind
an owl cries in the distance
how good is a fire at night

The Sidhe hills are open now
a wanderer passes by, a man, a spirit?
my friend, take your hand from the sword
it is useless tonight

The needfire is lit
and the ancient prayers are spoken
let us trust our inner powers
let us wait for the morning light

Tell me some tales of the shining gods
speak to me of the mighty spirits
sing me songs of the ancestors' deeds
will this night ever end, my friend?

See, there is light on the eastern horizon
the fingers of morning touch the night
light grows out of darkness
and a new day is born

The wheel is always turning
after darkness follows light
and Mother Earth keeps on changing
in the Wheel of the Year, day and night

Eilthireach, Samhain 2007

[Moonrising]

A Certain Elevation


Often I find myself wandering, alone but not lost,
Like a young deer in the forest.
I wonder, is this damp-moss dark my truth?
This little shady dell is cold and
Smells of earth and fernleaves,
As a child I waited here, daydreaming
Of rainbows and mountains and moonlight.

But all too fast, time dripped away like rain.
Then, once upon a time, when the world was still young
and I was not yet tired, white stars they fell
and alighted, like fairies amongst the shivering grasses,
absorbing me with caresses, twisting my childish fantasies.
Overpowered, swooning, partly senseless
I thought I saw a Unicorn,
It passed me in the bushes and was gone,
Taking with it my oxygen,
Bleeding away my sanity.

For months I lay, weeping, sunk in dementia,
Delirious, I experienced Death’s finer moments,
Blissful euphoria, life setting sun-like into shadow.
Then poignant clarity came, inflaming my perceptions,
Still weakened and still, a silent observer
I saw that even when the marshgas glows
And the moon lies full and low and swollen,
Still the dark sucks on the edges of the light,
Vampiric, draining colour and sensation.

Time passed, healing, and into my hallucination
You have now come and
What you are, I do not know,
You are not my Unicorn, of that I am sure
For in you I do not burn but
When we walk together through the trees
And you look to me, and that smile is in your eyes,
I sometimes feel a certain elevation.