They come and go
They go in and out
They grimace when I copy their sounds
Their wings are unformed or vanished
That is really a sadness
They must keep me caged from envy
Their purpose is unclear
They press their strange faces up to the bars
When the door stood opened
I was paralysed
I know I shouldn’t be here
I struggled to keep a small bird alive.
The bird, tight beaked, was unwilling.
Now my mother lies curled,
The same as a bird,
Tired of this thing we call living.
If we let her go now she can open her wings,
the windows are open, flung wide.
I defend her souls right
To escape in the night
And fly into sweet oblivion.
Out of silence,
out of song
rise the mountains and the seas.
Out of mud,
out of slime,
ignited by a spark divine,
crawls the worm,
swims the fish.
The birds their muddied feathers clean.
Out of thought,
out of dreams,
springs the seed, the bud, the egg.
Beneath the trees the Lovers slept
awaiting the eternal beat,
while up above, in balance kept,
the stars formed patterns in the sky,
the sun and moon held pace with time.
Now sounds the drum
of wood and skin
to summon up the tribal kin
to join their hands
and stretch their limbs
in complex, crafted, leaping steps.
The dance of life and death begins.
Warmed by winds and gentle rains,
the harvest fruit is gathered in
with care and deep respect.
Spring, summer, winters cold,
all was pure and full of light,
before the weary world grew old,
before the garden, in neglect,
began it’s dreadful Fall
What kind of sacrifice is this i find
but the corpse of a fledgling bird
suspended amidst the Blackberry thorns
at the end of Summer days,
redolent of the well-known tale
of the Nightingale and the Rose ,
with no explanation but thoughtless fate,
the fate that finally finds us all,
in whichever way it falls
Through the Fire
A Lady sat by a fireside in a warm and pleasant room.
The Lady was young, she was innocent of face and fair.
In the corner stood a harp, a mirror, a loom.
Deep and deeper into the heart of the glowing fire
She gazed seeing images flickering there
While she considered her hearts desire.
Her imagination set free, she wandered.
She saw pathways and forests and caves,
Fortunes won, lost and squandered,
Extravagant creatures with wings,
Battles, books and jewels and dark open graves,
Crowns and horses and rings.
Her heart beat fast and filled with desire
For all that she wanted from life.
She longed for adventure and never to tire,
Yearned for love and wealth and fame.
In a heartbeat she forgot herself
And reached her hand into the flame.
She had passed through the fire,
Into the cave she had seen, encrusted with gems.
Diamonds, emeralds and rubies hung from the roof
Entwined and supported by golden stems,
She plucked them like fruit and hid them deep in her skirt..
She turned then toward the cave entrance,
When a sound she heard made her quickly alert.
She heard the song of a distant bird,
The like of which she had not heard before.
Having no plans or well laid intentions
She decided to find the source of the song.
She stepped bare foot from the cave onto the mossy floor
Of a vast forest filled with the scent of flowers.
Looking about her she felt she didn’t walk long
But as the light fell she realised
She had been walking for hours and hours.
She saw a giant oak, gnarled, misshapen and ancient
In a clearing surrounded by lofty trees
And high in its leaves, on a far off branch, she saw the bird.
The bird continued to sing as if it intended to please.
The bird was unexceptional and grey of plumage
But its eye was very bright and in its beak it held a jewel.
She greeted the bird by instinct, feeling sure that it could speak
and then asked the question that burned in her heart
”Pray tell Sir Bird, what is that jewel you hold in your beak?”
The bird placed the stone beneath his feet
” Lady pray tell, what would you like it to be?”
She considered this question a while
Realising there was magic afoot
She answered, with what she hoped was an alluring smile,
”The Stone of Immortality”
”And why would you want such a thing?” said the Bird
”Surely this is what we all want” she replied.
The Bird cocked his head
”I can think of many things a girl such as you could want,
Happiness, peace, the joys of the bridal bed,
Knowledge, understanding, children, wealth…..?’’
”Yes I do want those things’ she said,
”But forever, in eternal good health!”
”You will have all else forever also” warned the Bird
”Grief, sorrow, loneliness, you may sometime hunger or fear,
cruel words and dark thoughts are also a part of this dish.
Immortality is not a bed of roses, my dear.”
With that he pushed the stone off the branch
To land at her feet. ”Pick it up, or not, as you wish.”
Without hesitation the Lady stooped down and took it.
At first it dazzled and burned in her hand,
But finding herself in its possession she bid the Bird farewell
And set out smiling to further explore the land.
She gained fortune and fame
For she had long to develop her naturals talents
And many came to revere her name.
She achieved every challenge to which she aspired.
Her fairness of face never changing
She found love and was much admired,
She fulfilled every one of her dreams.
But she also saw that with all these blessings
Immortality is not the gift is seems
And the Birds warning had been correct.
She saw all her loved ones pass on without her
And with this sorrow came the endless time to reflect
Upon her loss of all she had treasured most.
She watched her friends over aeons,
Numerous they were, a vast host,
One by one, in repeating pattern, pass away.
While she remained lovely and vibrant with health
They all seemed to go as if in a day.
She saw her lovers beauty and strength fade,
Her children grew old before her eyes.
She kept her fame, her knowledge, her wealth
But these are worth nothing when all we love dies.
Feeling tired, abandoned, alone, forlorn
She returned to the Forest, to seek the Bird.
She arrived at the clearing in the soft light of dawn.
The Bird sat as before high up in the Ancient Tree.
He no longer looked grey, unworthy of a glance.
This time she saw that he was a Dove.
The bird moved on his branch in a circular dance,
And then gently bowed to her. ”What is your desire?”
”I want to be mortal” she said ”and return through the fire
And accept my true fate, whatever is to become of me”
”I see said the Dove, then i must ask you one question,
What is the greatest treasure anyone can possess?”
Without hesitation the Lady answered, Love.”
”You have learned the greatest lesson my child”
The Bird bowed again, ”Now return through the fire,
Use this understanding well, for short and fleeting
Is your time in this world. Go now and find Love,
But most of all remember to nurture and live it.’’
”This will be the greatest gift you take from our meeting;
Love is not for the taking. Remember to give it.”
(this is an extract from The Raven and the Storyteller which can be found on Amazon)
The Dreaming Path 