Poetry

Thanksgiving Quatrain

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

Give thanks for the air that fills you lungs
And the heart that still beats in your breast
Give thanks for all the love you’ve received
And for every time you’ve been blessed

Give thanks for the sun that rises each morning
And the sweet gentle rest of the night
And the dreams that come when you open your mind
And the bright stars above so bright

Give thanks for the times you could help a good friend
Give thanks for a strangers wise words
Give thanks for the food on your table each day
And share what you have with the world

Inconstancy

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

lost in the land
where the grass is always greener
on the other side

they wander about,
plucking at this and at that,
never satisfied

the next will taste better
the herbs they select will be sweeter
the sun will reveal all the last light belied

to sit in a field ,
under one tree
and see how it changes,

how day becomes slowly night,
would bring a more lasting delight
through sunsets and dawns.

cold winds may blow and the sun grow hot
there may be storms,
and the leaves will fall.

without sun and rain there’s no rainbow
the pot of gold is right here

 

 

 

Fear Not Winter

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

we are children of the sun
fear not evening when it comes
fear not winters failing light
when our hearth fires burn so bright

though the snow is on the ground
with the shadows gathered all around
the stars are shining brighter up above
and our hearts are filled with warmth of love

come with gladness
come with cheer
come to bless the turning year

we will sing
we will bring the Yule log in
pine and holly from the wood
as we share the deep red cup of glowing wine

come with gladness
come with cheer
come to bless the turning year

we will dance
we will hang the mistletoe
i will kiss you once again
and await the springs returning of the wren

Elbereth Githoniel

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Varda Elentari, Elbereth Githoniel,
Star Kindler, Everwhite,
Noble, beautiful, shining in glory,.
Lamp of the West, Jewel of the Night,
She comes to bring joy to our story,
She who is ever fair, overcomes even death

The Queen of the Stars forever.
To Manwe, the King of Arda, wife.
Great amongst the Queens of the Valar
She shines evermore to illuminate life
East to West our guiding star
She who is vanquished never

She established the course of the Sun and Moon
She placed Earendil as a star in the sky
She lights our way home afar in the West
So that those who journey may never die
She hears the prayers of the lost and the best
She comes as a blazing star into gloom.

 

elbereth

The Battlefield

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

half of the world is locked in a nightmare
half of the world is a glorious dream
half of the world is walking in darkness
spreading their misery wherever they go
half of the world follows the light
seeing the mystery, seeing the glow

storm clouds and thunder, fire and strong bars
a vision of wonder, sunlight and stars
horror and cruelty, vicious dissent
honour and loyalty, loving ascent
hell on earth if that is your choice
heaven on earth too has its own voice

it so often seems that the dark side will win
but the balance is held between giving and sin
the clever ones know how to give all the answers
the wise ones are known by the questions they ask
all that we see will be over, the past,
nightmare or dream we awaken at last
the night will end and all will be light

In Narnia

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Narnia, where we used to go,
Through the door beneath our stairs
That took us down the hidden lanes
To open fields of snow again

Icicles and winter fires
Breathe of horses in the frost
Snow drifts formed enchanted spires
Terraces and palisades

Tumnus hiding from the Witch
Down beside the darkened wood
We huddled close to hear the bells
Jingling silver on her sleigh

She never came to catch us there
We were young and innocent
And far too brave for one as she
We were free and happy then

All the ways we understood
Now we understand them all anew
No witch will ever make us stone
She never could, she never will

No victims of her wicked arts
The sunlight comes to bring the thaw
The lion shines within our hearts
Our magic lives here as before

 

In Narnia

So Simple

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

How simple it was to be in love then,
when we were only a boy and a girl.
Imagination had magical powers,
a cloth of bright colours,
shot through with silk
reflecting the light.

This was a love
that belonged to the fields,
hidden hedgerows,
sweet scented bowers
furnished with branches,
bean can cups, ivy,
pebbles and leaves,
a paradise, of glorious hours,
where summers haze
wrapped us in dreams.

Now that I’m older,
after long, tiring years,
all that i saw,
all that i felt,
showed me less about love
than I knew then.
Let’s be children,
so simple again.

Seven

/ A. Gouedard / 1 Comment

One for sorrow.
Time is borrowed.
Lost and broken by our fears
All our dreams will fly away.
When we know our days are few
We treasure all we have by this,
No time to waste in bitter tears,
The years will pass us soon enough

Two for joy,
When dreams come true.
For every sorrow, comes a kiss
And love is found, in simple things.
Profound delight, the way to bliss,
The bursting throat, the leaping heart,
The song of life the blackbird sings.
Bring the rainbows, bring the flowers,
Joy is brief and flies away.
Remember it in darker hours

Three for the gentle girl i met.
So easily she passed me by.
I never thought to question her
Where she went or even why.
Three times she passed,
Three times she went
And now she’s here,
Before time’s spent

Four for the boy, now a man
He tries to grow, he tries to know,
He tries to do the best he can
And in the trying finds his strength.

Five is starlight’s silver sparkle.
The moon above shines down on us,
Pulls the tides where waters flow.
Silver rings and ankle bells,
Unicorns and secret spells
Mark the paths for those who know,
In the land where magic dwells

Six for gold, the loving cup,
The treasure of the alchemists
Wrapped in story,
Ancient rhymes
All the mysteries unfold

Seven, the secret never told
The one we learn as we grow old
Seven Sisters in the sky
And all the stars mapped out above
Predicting love and harmony
And we so blind we do not see
Eternity may beckon us.

The wise ones never know the answer
There is no truth in certainty.

***************

Based on this old magpie omens rhyme ………

One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told

Cherub

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

In the street
a little boy
bends down.
He found a pebble

”Stone!”he cries,
in sheer delight,
reacting as an angel might,
his face illuminated

”Amazing news!”
his mother says.
She smiles at him,
thinking she’s the wise one

The Song of Seven by Walter de la Mare

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

Far away, and long ago–
May sweet Memory be forgiven!
Came a Wizard in the evening,
And he sang the Song of Seven.
Yes, he plucked his jangling harp-strings
With fingers smooth and even;
And his eyes beneath his dangling hair
Were still as is the sea;
But the Song of Seven has never yet,
One note, come back to me.

The Song of One I know,
A rose its thorns between;

The Song of Two I learned
Where only the birds have been;

The Song of Three I heard
When March was fleet with hares;

The Song of Four was the wind’s–the wind’s,
Where wheat grew thick with tares;

The Song of Five, ah me!
Lovely the midmost one;

The Song of Six, died out
Before the dream was done. . .

One–two–three–four–five, six–
And all the grace notes given:
But widdershins, and witchery-sweet,
Where is the Song of Seven?

seven magpies