Once upon the darkest hour,
I saw an emerald dragons’ scale,
Shining like a ray of sun,
Heavy as a dragon’s tail.
Peaceful as the rising moon,
I saw the sleeping dragon wake,
She looked at me with quite a stare,
“No need have you to stand and quake”
She whispered to me in my ear,
Of fantasies I’d never seen,
Of elves and dwarves and creatures strange,
And all that lies there in between.
Alas it was now time to go,
So sorrowful I stand and stare,
So beautiful she looked to me,
But terrifying as her glare.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Friday, 3 July 2009
Shimmer
Sandy shores that shine and shimmer,
Sunlight rains across the land,
Heron’s fight for many fishes,
Cawing loudly through the day.
Shimmering blue, the water deep,
Lashing silence across the bay.
Hiding secrets long forgotten,
And darkness we will never see.
Sunlight rains across the land,
Heron’s fight for many fishes,
Cawing loudly through the day.
Shimmering blue, the water deep,
Lashing silence across the bay.
Hiding secrets long forgotten,
And darkness we will never see.
Saturday, 6 June 2009
Electric Tension
Cloudy night,
Grey as the beard of a tired old man,
Angry as the bulls’ eye rolls,
A constant ever swirling sea of sadness,
Yet still.
Frosty electric in the air,
Tension,
Sharp as the blade,
Then breaks,
Falling diamonds from the sky,
Cold and hard as rocks,
Bullets on the harsh tin roof,
Deafening,
Then it stops.
Grey as the beard of a tired old man,
Angry as the bulls’ eye rolls,
A constant ever swirling sea of sadness,
Yet still.
Frosty electric in the air,
Tension,
Sharp as the blade,
Then breaks,
Falling diamonds from the sky,
Cold and hard as rocks,
Bullets on the harsh tin roof,
Deafening,
Then it stops.
Friday, 29 May 2009
Cladeau
The funeral procession marched onward through the dwellings following the burning torch. Candles glittering in the twilight, it wound its way around the little thatched round houses like a python about to crush it’s prey, drawing ever nearer to the pyre on Loch Bach.
The days since Elspeth’s husband had died had seemed a life time to her. The roses he had bought her the day before he had died now lay dead on the table in her abode, black and putrefying. She hadn’t had the strength to throw them away, even if she’d wanted to.
Ewan had been hunting that day for wild boar with Edana’s husband Clyde, herself Edana and Rhiannon had been weaving the dress for Rhiannon’s pairing with Kentigern the following day. It had been late, that Ewan had come home that night. He gave her the red rose, perfect as a kiss that lingers. Vaguely, She remembered what it was to be happy, a feeling quite foreign to her now as she walked thorough Loganaich.
She kept reliving the events of that terrible night over and over again, vividly haunting her dreams. The attack on the Clan had not been expected. The Loganaichs had won the fight and many had been injured, but it was only her Ewan that lay still.
‘Not long now dear’ came the far away voice of Rhiannon.
The snake continued to weave its way through the paths between the round houses of Loganaich. The Candles people were holding glittering in the twilight. Elspeth was dreading the arrival at Loch Bach, where the flaming was to take place at moonrise. She dragged her feet along the ground, people around her not able to see them under the many layers of the clan blue tartan skirts she was wearing. She drew her long black Cape’s hood further over her head.
The prickle in the corners of her eyes sharpened slightly as they walked past Ewan’s favourite shrine to Arianrhod, goddess of the moon and stars, which they were passing. The figurine, hewn out of silver birch was draped in ivy wreaths, as Loganaich tradition dictated it should after a passing.
Oh, the many summer nights they had spent dancing around Arianrhod, the smell of roasting wild boar cooking over the mid summer sabbat fire, laughing and playing with the small children who giggled at the thought of being up past bedtime. Times that still lingered in her memory. She didn’t think that she would ever eat again, though she knew she must, the baby she was carrying dictated that.
Now on the outskirts of the encampment, they could see the distant mountains through the valley below. The forest stretched below it for as far as the eye could see; a completely green carpet, apart from the mirror like loch in the middle, finally disappearing on the horizon.
They had often walked in the forest after meals. The crisp green leaves on the trees sent a sparkling, shimmering greenish light in hazy patches on the heather covering the forest floor. She had used to run, weaving through the trees, her long black hair trailing behind her like a wave of black silk, the leaves and twigs on the forest floor cracking as she ran, chased by Ewan through the forest. Upon catching her they had fallen to the ground in passion and made love on the heather. Four months though it had been, it seemed a world way from the one she was in now.
‘Elspeth?’ said the far away voice of her sister Edana.
‘Leave her be Edana’ came Rhiannon’s voice from a little nearer.
Elspeth was glad her sisters were with her, she knew she couldn’t have survived these last few days without them, they had made sure that she had eaten, though she hadn’t wanted to. They didn’t know about the baby yet, she was only just beginning to show, Elspeth had only felt the kick the week or so before the attack, and the timing hadn’t seemed quite right.
She gazed sadly at the cladeau ring on her finger, as she wiped the tears from her eyes. The crowned golden heart pointing eternally towards of her, signifying that she belonged to Ewan, and eternal love. She sighed and continued to follow the winding snake on its continuing journey to Loch Bach, the place where they had first kissed, and where they had had their pairing. It had been sunny that day at the loch splashing each other playfully. She had tripped and fallen caught by Ewan, who was a friend in those days. As their eyes met on this occasion, the energy between them had been amazing and they kissed. She still remembered how his beautiful green blue eyes had shone as he gave her the Cladeau, the love that she had felt that day made her feel happier than she had had ever been before. Now the memory made her heart feel like a stone sinking gradually to the bottom of a quagmire. She placed her hands on the bump forming in her lower abdomen sorrowfully. Ewan would never see the child now growing inside of her, would never kiss her again. He had been taken from her before his time, and now she was alone.
The winding snake of light finally coiled to a halt. She could hear the steady heart beat of the drum as she walked closer to the waters edge which glistened silver in the star light, but drifting in her own memories, was unaware of what it meant.
‘Are you ready Elspeth’ said Rhiannon
This brought Elspeth back to earth with a crash. She was here already? She saw the scene in front of her as a nightmarish daze. Rhiannon and Edana, her older sisters were busy preparing the pyre for the flaming.
The pyre was a large raft of tree trunks, tied together with thick twine. A wooden dais in the middle covered in bracken, ivy, and evening primrose. Crowning the pyre was where Ewan now lay, dressed in the clan’s blue tartan, his claymore lay vertically across his chest. Upon his left finger was his own cladeau ring, his hand crossed. Elspeth stood on the edge of the pyre, gazing at her husband with woeful eyes.
‘He can’t be dead, he’s just sleeping’ she thought. Tears rolled down her face and landed one by one on his claymore, as she placed the single red rose on her husband’s chest. A comforting hand fell softly on her shoulder.
‘Come, it’s moon rise’ said Rhiannon "you need to talk to the clan."
‘ I can’t say the words Rhiannon, it will make it real’ said Elspeth desperately
‘You need to do this’ said Edana sympathetically ‘he needs to go to Aravon, the after life, and only you, the keeper of his soul can let him go’
Elspeth took the torch, she knew it must be done, and she turned to the clan.
‘I Elspeth, the keeper of Ewan Loganaich's soul, send him on to Aravon, to wait for me there. I send him under the protection of Arianrhod, goddess of moon and stars, to whom he committed his faith. May he find my soul in Aravon, for only angels can sing louder in hope’
She lowered the torch, which flickered in the light evening breeze, ‘ I love you’ she whispered softly as the bracken caught fire.
Elspeth stepped a shore. Greif-stricken, she watched as the decorations gradually were consumed, and hid Ewan from view in a cloud of dragon’s breath. The pyre was pushed out on to the loch with long poles of the same wood as the pyre. The pyre drifted slowly across the lake on a bed of mist, gradually disappearing into the ether. The candles of the many people on land steadily bidding it goodbye.
Elspeth didn’t know how she would cope with the child of theirs; that was a problem she was just going to have to face when the time came. Her husband's face would be engraved there for ever in her mind. She did not know when she would see his happy face once more. She knew that one day, they would meet again, and until that time she would have to be strong.
The days since Elspeth’s husband had died had seemed a life time to her. The roses he had bought her the day before he had died now lay dead on the table in her abode, black and putrefying. She hadn’t had the strength to throw them away, even if she’d wanted to.
Ewan had been hunting that day for wild boar with Edana’s husband Clyde, herself Edana and Rhiannon had been weaving the dress for Rhiannon’s pairing with Kentigern the following day. It had been late, that Ewan had come home that night. He gave her the red rose, perfect as a kiss that lingers. Vaguely, She remembered what it was to be happy, a feeling quite foreign to her now as she walked thorough Loganaich.
She kept reliving the events of that terrible night over and over again, vividly haunting her dreams. The attack on the Clan had not been expected. The Loganaichs had won the fight and many had been injured, but it was only her Ewan that lay still.
‘Not long now dear’ came the far away voice of Rhiannon.
The snake continued to weave its way through the paths between the round houses of Loganaich. The Candles people were holding glittering in the twilight. Elspeth was dreading the arrival at Loch Bach, where the flaming was to take place at moonrise. She dragged her feet along the ground, people around her not able to see them under the many layers of the clan blue tartan skirts she was wearing. She drew her long black Cape’s hood further over her head.
The prickle in the corners of her eyes sharpened slightly as they walked past Ewan’s favourite shrine to Arianrhod, goddess of the moon and stars, which they were passing. The figurine, hewn out of silver birch was draped in ivy wreaths, as Loganaich tradition dictated it should after a passing.
Oh, the many summer nights they had spent dancing around Arianrhod, the smell of roasting wild boar cooking over the mid summer sabbat fire, laughing and playing with the small children who giggled at the thought of being up past bedtime. Times that still lingered in her memory. She didn’t think that she would ever eat again, though she knew she must, the baby she was carrying dictated that.
Now on the outskirts of the encampment, they could see the distant mountains through the valley below. The forest stretched below it for as far as the eye could see; a completely green carpet, apart from the mirror like loch in the middle, finally disappearing on the horizon.
They had often walked in the forest after meals. The crisp green leaves on the trees sent a sparkling, shimmering greenish light in hazy patches on the heather covering the forest floor. She had used to run, weaving through the trees, her long black hair trailing behind her like a wave of black silk, the leaves and twigs on the forest floor cracking as she ran, chased by Ewan through the forest. Upon catching her they had fallen to the ground in passion and made love on the heather. Four months though it had been, it seemed a world way from the one she was in now.
‘Elspeth?’ said the far away voice of her sister Edana.
‘Leave her be Edana’ came Rhiannon’s voice from a little nearer.
Elspeth was glad her sisters were with her, she knew she couldn’t have survived these last few days without them, they had made sure that she had eaten, though she hadn’t wanted to. They didn’t know about the baby yet, she was only just beginning to show, Elspeth had only felt the kick the week or so before the attack, and the timing hadn’t seemed quite right.
She gazed sadly at the cladeau ring on her finger, as she wiped the tears from her eyes. The crowned golden heart pointing eternally towards of her, signifying that she belonged to Ewan, and eternal love. She sighed and continued to follow the winding snake on its continuing journey to Loch Bach, the place where they had first kissed, and where they had had their pairing. It had been sunny that day at the loch splashing each other playfully. She had tripped and fallen caught by Ewan, who was a friend in those days. As their eyes met on this occasion, the energy between them had been amazing and they kissed. She still remembered how his beautiful green blue eyes had shone as he gave her the Cladeau, the love that she had felt that day made her feel happier than she had had ever been before. Now the memory made her heart feel like a stone sinking gradually to the bottom of a quagmire. She placed her hands on the bump forming in her lower abdomen sorrowfully. Ewan would never see the child now growing inside of her, would never kiss her again. He had been taken from her before his time, and now she was alone.
The winding snake of light finally coiled to a halt. She could hear the steady heart beat of the drum as she walked closer to the waters edge which glistened silver in the star light, but drifting in her own memories, was unaware of what it meant.
‘Are you ready Elspeth’ said Rhiannon
This brought Elspeth back to earth with a crash. She was here already? She saw the scene in front of her as a nightmarish daze. Rhiannon and Edana, her older sisters were busy preparing the pyre for the flaming.
The pyre was a large raft of tree trunks, tied together with thick twine. A wooden dais in the middle covered in bracken, ivy, and evening primrose. Crowning the pyre was where Ewan now lay, dressed in the clan’s blue tartan, his claymore lay vertically across his chest. Upon his left finger was his own cladeau ring, his hand crossed. Elspeth stood on the edge of the pyre, gazing at her husband with woeful eyes.
‘He can’t be dead, he’s just sleeping’ she thought. Tears rolled down her face and landed one by one on his claymore, as she placed the single red rose on her husband’s chest. A comforting hand fell softly on her shoulder.
‘Come, it’s moon rise’ said Rhiannon "you need to talk to the clan."
‘ I can’t say the words Rhiannon, it will make it real’ said Elspeth desperately
‘You need to do this’ said Edana sympathetically ‘he needs to go to Aravon, the after life, and only you, the keeper of his soul can let him go’
Elspeth took the torch, she knew it must be done, and she turned to the clan.
‘I Elspeth, the keeper of Ewan Loganaich's soul, send him on to Aravon, to wait for me there. I send him under the protection of Arianrhod, goddess of moon and stars, to whom he committed his faith. May he find my soul in Aravon, for only angels can sing louder in hope’
She lowered the torch, which flickered in the light evening breeze, ‘ I love you’ she whispered softly as the bracken caught fire.
Elspeth stepped a shore. Greif-stricken, she watched as the decorations gradually were consumed, and hid Ewan from view in a cloud of dragon’s breath. The pyre was pushed out on to the loch with long poles of the same wood as the pyre. The pyre drifted slowly across the lake on a bed of mist, gradually disappearing into the ether. The candles of the many people on land steadily bidding it goodbye.
Elspeth didn’t know how she would cope with the child of theirs; that was a problem she was just going to have to face when the time came. Her husband's face would be engraved there for ever in her mind. She did not know when she would see his happy face once more. She knew that one day, they would meet again, and until that time she would have to be strong.
Brain's gone fishing
Hi there!
I am currently a student due to graduate in July, but I am back next year doing a Master's.
I often find my brain wandering to places, often with out me.
Hopefully you'll follow my ramblings :)
You'll also find my ramblings over at laserchickensoup. :)
I am currently a student due to graduate in July, but I am back next year doing a Master's.
I often find my brain wandering to places, often with out me.
Hopefully you'll follow my ramblings :)
You'll also find my ramblings over at laserchickensoup. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
