Revenge of the Ebony Tree (Poetry)

[Azrienoch]

This is the account which resulted in the wand I submitted for the last Esteddfod Competition.


Revenge of the Ebony Tree

An unprovoked pull I felt,
But still more than just a whim,
I walked over to my altar and knelt
To take the Ebony limb.

As my fingers touched the black hardwood,
I was suddenly overwhelmed.
I struggled to breathe as best I could
As I was swept to another realm.

Such agony, hate, anger, and pain
Came into me; I wept.
Faces of Lost Souls just came
Until off, again, I was swept.

It was a swamp I found myself in, this time,
So thick, I could not see the sky.
I tried not to step in the bog or the slime
To no avail; no place was dry.

I felt something suddenly whip across my face,
I looked to see what it could be...
There, gnarled, in the center of this place,
Stood the Ebony Tree.

It wasted no time to continue it's assault
Slicing deep gashes into my skin.
I was frozen, thinking, "What here is my fault?"
"Surely, this is not for my sin."

I was thrown back into my body on Earth
And began to carve those faces I'd seen.
I realized then, for whatever it was worth,
That this black wood had once been green.

[Piastra]

i loved this one, grasshopper. i have read it several times. does this happen with all your woods? do you have others, similar? ooooo! i am all aprickle from this...

c.

[Piastra]

and you write as well as you carve...

[Azrienoch]

Short Answer: No.

Long Answer: Usually, I meditate with the wood, and in these meditations, I try to go to the place that the branch came from. Once there, I usually see a person standing where the tree was, and I'll have a nice chat with them, see what they'd like to become, and so on.
As described in the poem, I went to the place where the branch came from involuntarily, and what's worse, the tree did not, obviously, appear as a human. I took this as a gesture saying that the tree had no respect for me, because I, apparently, had no respect for it.
Initially, my interpretation of the faces was that they were people. But now I know that these were the faces of the lost souls of trees remorselessly harvested, their timeless faces caught in the expression they possessed at their deaths.
So yes, I usually do something along the lines described, but no, never like that time. As I said in the "Azrienoch and Alferian's wands" thread, I became very scared of it. Here's the story behind that; After completion, the wand antagonized and harrassed me constantly, forced me to carry it at all times. I would drift off in conversation, my own words being drowned out by the screams coming from my pocket. Soon afterwards, I chose to give it to Alferian, who's seemed to tame the beast, and enjoys having it around.
I've never experienced anything like that, so naturally, I do miss having it. But then I think of the incessant screaming of insults, and I know that we're both better off.
Thank you for your kind words, by the way.

[Ruthie]

I was hoping you'd write about that experience for the Eisteddfod. An excellent poem, too! Thanks for sharing that.

[Kaya-Nita]

As always your talent streams from your finger tips and we are the lucky ones to read and recieve. Mee-gwitch Dearest.

[Jeb]

A great telling, Noble Wand-Carver! Exciting and as Carragh says, very "aprickle"ing.

[Loosh]

Thanks for sharing Azrienoch! It does make one stop and think about tree harvesting. A chilling cautionary tale!

[Caritas]

liked the description of your experience here

we trimmed our elm yesterday and I have many branches and limbs to work with now! They all seem fairly content, however....


Nice work, very nice!
blessings, Caritas

[Kat Lady]

Beautifully carved, beautifully spoken. You are a true Bard: poetry, artwork, carving. I am impressed with all of your workmanship.

[Underground River]

I can't believe I haven't commented on this one! I have read it twice before today and now am reading for the third time. This poem is very frightening to me. Very well-written too!
GreenDruid