1      I was dreaming I was strolling
        over verdant grasses, rolling
        through a garden, most pleasing to the eye

2      all around me there were flowers
        in blossom laden bowers
        and a forest, just beyond their brilliant ranks

3      while above I saw a sky
        with a sun that glowed on high
        not a cloud besmirched that perfect field of blue

4      now I should have thought it odd
        that no gardener turned the sod
        nor were there children, playing games upon the sward

5      but I could hardly spare a glance
        as, bed to bed, I joined the dance
        of a breeze that led from one bloom to the next

6      and I’d have gone on in this fashion
        relenting to my passion
        for all things green and growing in this place

7      ‘cept a movement caught my eye
        and turning, I did spy
        a roebuck that stepped out from ‘neath the trees

8      king of kings and lord of men
        he was a perfect specimen
        of animated masculinity

9      every inch of his fine from
        from his hooves up to his horns
        spoke of power barely held under control

10    so regal was this beast
        that I didn’t think the least
        when I dropped onto my knees under his power

11    was it lust or was it fear
        made me dread he might come near?
        made me wish for it with all my aching heart!

12    but then he blinked and I was freed
        from the spell he’d cast on me
        with the liquid gaze of his majestic eye

13    quick as his coming, he was gone
        and I, turning, ran headlong
        never stopping, never daring to look back

14    ’till it seemed I’d reached the end
        of this magical Eden
        as I came up short beside a little well

15    round and solid, built of stone
        far below I herd a tone
        of water lapping at it’s mossy sides

16    and as I tried to figure out
        how to get the water out
        I herd a whisper wafting on the breeze

17    ‘what’s this?’ I thought, and looked about
        just the breeze, I had no doubt
        for I was standing at the garden’s very end

18    and as I said, I was alone
        ‘cept for a statue made of stone
        and surely that could never say a word

19    ‘who am I?’ the statue said
        and tilted up her stony head
        ‘fore stepping from the platform where she’d stood

20    I should have ran or screamed
        but I remembered that I dreamed
        and accepted this new turning of events

21    perhaps I knew just what she was
        no wood nymph nor succubus
        but my goddess come to see me in my dreams

22    ‘mother’ filled my sleeping mind
        and she smiled, oh so kind!
        suffusing me with her serenity

23    silent were we, then, a while
        as I stared up at her smile
        and she, a hand, laid on my weary head

24    ‘who am I?’ she raised my chin
        and I felt turmoil within
        as I realized she wanted something more

25    so many names came to me then
        Isis, Hecate, Ceridwen
        she was mother, daughter-huntress and the crone

26    but these were not the names she sought
        so in my head she placed the though
        ‘look deeper into what you’ve seen tonight’

27    then I woke up in my bed
        and my heart felt just like lead
        as the answer came, to late, into my mind

28    for you see, the answer’s plain
        I should have simply said my name

Death and I were having tea, a little bitch and chat,
when he offered me some cake… “You know I can’t eat that!”
“Don’t you trust me?” Lord death grinned, still proffering the tray.
“You – I trust,” I took a piece, “I guess I’m odd that way.”
He laughed and settled in his chair, “you honour me my dear
but surely there are others, you exaggerate I fear.”
“No,” I sighed, considering, “I’ve issues I suppose.”
“No!” He gasped and shook his head, “don’t tell me you’ve got those!”
“It’s true,” said I, “or so I’m told, I’m needy and don’t trust.
I also have a raft of fears… and oh, I hate to dust…”
Feigning shock, death cocked his head, “and yet you still have friends…?
who by the way speak well of you when they come to their ends.”
I thanked him for that, sobering, and sipped a little tea.
“But tell me child,” he touched my hand, “do you owe this to me?”
“You know how it was,” I said, “my family’s a mess.
With so much sickness – death -around, I learned to doubt I guess.
And my mother, she’s a fan…” (Death chimed in when I said),
“They won’t be with us too much longer, soon they could be dead…!”
“She still says that one all the time!” I slapped him on the knee
while Death convulsed with laughter, ‘Well, she doesn’t work for me!’
“Otherwise, the men I’ve known, said they want love and such
but when I tired to ‘give’ or ‘get’, they claimed I asked too much.
And friends, they said ‘forever’ but most often they have lied
’cause all of them have moved away, and some of them have died.
As for fears, I don’t fear ‘death’, I know you far too well.
It’s living terrifies me, that’s the part that’s hard as hell.”
He sat staring, deathly still, as only Death can do
‘fore sighing, “I am sorry that I’ve brought such pain to you.”
“Oh no!” I gasped, and went to him and climbed up on his knee
“You’re the only one who’s has been there… don’t you see?
And where others say I’m bitter, that I’m morbid, think too much…
you know how I value life, the little moments, and a touch.
You’ve also taught me not to fear the thing that others dread
so I can leave life peacefully…. perhaps in some soft bed…”
Death chuckled and embraced me, “But that’s not the way you’ll go.”
“Shut up,” I rested on his chest, “I’d rather I not know.”

I am the tiny apple seed

I’m the gnarled apple tree

I’m the blossom and the tart-sweet fruit

I’m the man who eats of it

I’m beasts that feast on every bit

I’m the air that trees and creatures breath

I’m the lightning strikes it down

I’m rain that washes ash to ground

I’m the Earth that takes them in it’s womb

I’m the seed that germinates

I’m the bee that pollinates

I’m the apple-sappling grows next spring

I’m the scorched and buried root

I’m the struggling springtime shoot

I’m the apple tree that grows in spring

Spirit is the basic stuff

The universe is made up of

It’s the force that drives and binds all things

this simple spirit manifests

When time… conditions are all best

To become the beast, the sky, and me

and if conditions don’t align

Spirit changes – bides it’s time

Seeds are still-born, fruit rots, and I die

But death is just a change of form

Spirit goes on, it’s reborn

Well, you sit there, baby, talking, yah, I see you move your lips
but I guess I must be punch-drunk – guess I took too many hits
Cause seems to me you’re saying that the two of us gave up
But that aint how it went, boy, so it’s time you just shut up

And listen while I tell you, even after all these years
I still fall asleep on pillows that are soaked with bitter tears
Cause I gave you my heart, boy, yah, I offered up my soul
But you refused my love, cause you just saw it as ‘control’

All my tender kisses, all my lovin’ and my hope
To you were just like punches, babe, that had you on the ropes
Every time I offered you my friendship and my dreams
You herd them like the crowd that chants for blood, their hungry screams

Yah, I’m punch drunk baby, from the shots you’ve given me
Yah, I’m punch drunk, maybe, but I aint too blind to see
That after 18 rounds it’s time to throw in, leave the ring
Cause you don’t know what love is, man, it’s only pain you bring

So you hit me with your best shots, yah, you laid me on the mat
Looked at me, resentful, said ‘be glad I gave you that’
And walked away – a thousand times – hoped I’d just let you win
Cause you would rather lose or die, than to ever just give in

And every round, I got up, shook the blood out of my eyes,
Took another beating, till I finally realized
That if I left the ring, you’d find another girl to fight
Maybe then, you’d love me, learn to finally treat me right

So you can pose for pictures, tell your story to the press
Make yourself the hero, if you’re looking to impress
But never say I gave up, cause I’m still here lovin’ you
Guess I must be punch drunk, or it’s all I know to do

Yah, I’m punch drunk baby, from the shots you gave to me
Yah, I’m punch drunk, maybe, but I aint too blind to see
That after 18 rounds it’s time to get some self respect
So I’m walkin’ out the door and tryin’ hard to just forget
Punch drunk, I may be, but you’re the loser in the end
Cause you coulda’ had ‘forever’ but you slapped away my hand

sun’s setting
walk – forgetting
lose myself along the street
heart pumping
nerves thrumming
skin’s glistening in the heat
hips swaying
some guy saying
where you goin’? Girl! You’re sweet!
eyes staring
skirt’s flaring
being ‘woman’s kinda neat
magic growing
without knowing
find my mojo in the street

Meave, the queen of all things fey
from her beauty hide away
for though to catch her wins a kiss
’tis a deadly sort of bliss
bathed in moonlight ‘neath her tree
he who sees her cursed be
none on life is half as fair
as she with fiery copper hair
eyes of azure lips of red
he would have her to his bed
and with the dawning he shall die
would give his life with her to lie
so hide your eyes and turn away
else ne’er again see light of day

Meave, the queen of all things fey
from her beauty hide away
for though to catch her wins a kiss
’tis a deadly sort of bliss
bathed in moonlight ‘neath her tree
he who sees her cursed be
none on life is half as fair
as she with fiery copper hair
eyes of azure lips of red
he would have her to his bed
and with the dawning he shall die
would give his life with her to lie
so hide your eyes and turn away
else ne’er again see light of day

A maiden was fishing the river one day
      admiring the sparkle of sunlight at play
      upon the waves that rushed by the shore
      and lost in the sound of the great river’s roar

( 2) good fortune was hers and she soon had a catch
       and was casting again to get that one’s match
       but as the maid hauled on the thin fishing line
       she felt a great tug, and a voice said ‘that’s mine’

( 3) a man had appeared with her fish in his hand
       and was scowling at her as he came toward the land
       but soon as he saw the fair Indian maid
       a smile replaced the dark frown he had made

( 4) ‘you’ve taken what’s mine,’ he said with a grin
       admiring the glow of her soft copper skin
       ‘you must give me a kiss – I think payment’s fit
       or I’ll drown you right here on the rocks where you sit

( 5) ‘though the maid knew this ‘man’ was the great god He-No
       she was reluctant to let her fish go
       so she faced him as though she might actually fight
       kissed him – them pushed him – then clasped the fish tight

( 6) laughing, the god fell back into the waves
       calling, ‘you, dear, are bolder than any young brave!
       ‘but the maid didn’t hear as she ran toward the trees
       fighting the quiver that weakened her knees

( 7) the maid told no one of the day’s strange event
       but that night couldn’t sleep as she lay in her tent
       for each time that she closed her eyes all she could see
       was the man who had smiled at her tenderly

( 8 ) and in the thunder of Oniagara’s roar
       she herd his voice calling her down to the shore
       tomorrow, she promised, as sleep finally came
       whispering softly her sweet He-No’s name

( 9) day after day the maid went to the shore
       always returning with fish by the score
       so all were quite proud of the maid’s industry
       and how she contributed so happily

(10)  but when the fall painted the trees red and gold
       her father, the chief, said, ‘my dear, I am old…
       and I’d see you married before I must go
       so I’ve chosen a husband from the best men I know’

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(11)  in shock the maid watched as a handsome young man
       stood and approached the great chief of the clan
       as others around them broke into a cheer
       the poor maiden turned and ran off like a deer’

(12) ‘she’s just as that age’ the chief said to the others
       and received knowing nods from the fathers and mothers
       but he gave the lad leave to go search for his bride
       knowing he needed a balm for his pride

(13)  while the lads searched the gorge –
                where the maid liked to play
       the clan started the feast for the nuptial day
       but the chief felt the need to confer with a peer
       so he went to the falls where the waters ran clear

(14)  He-No he thought, was much older than he
       and would give him advice – if he asked – happily
       … perhaps he had rushed the poor girl after all…
       …would the youth wait?… would the clan let him stall?

(15)  but as the chief called out to raise the great god
       he spied, up the river, a sight that was odd
       a boat was adrift atop the high waves
       and in it the chief thought he saw a young brave

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(16)  shouting and running toward the shore line
       he prayed help would come to him in enough time
       for the rapids that bore the boat claimed many lives
       once caught in their pull, he thought, no one survives!

(17)  ‘I love you!’ he herd from inside the canoe
       fear gripped him as he saw there was nought he could do
       ’twas his daughter was riding along with the waves
       as calmly as if she were one of his braves

(18)  then she waved as the boat tumbled over the falls
       and the chieftain gave up on his pleas and his calls
       and used all his strength to run back to the crest
       feeling his heart break inside of his chest

(19)  at that moment the ground lurched and gave a great heave
       so the chief thought his senses had taken their leave
       but the truth was a third falls had just been new born
       between the two others, so old and so worn

(20)  watching the water course over and down
       he was sure he would see his poor daughter had drowned
       but instead, to his great shock, she stood far below
       atop of the river, beside great He-No

(21)  the god appear young and as tall as a tree
       holding the maid’s hand, he beamed happily’
       your daughter will marry, this day,’ he then said
       ‘but I am the one that this sweet girl will wed’

(22)  ‘she will live with me always behind the great falls
       and bare many children to fill my great hall’
       then He-No said of the new falls he’d made
       ‘that veil shall honour the joining we’ve made’

(23)  then taking his sweet maiden by her small hand
       He-No parted the waters by where they did stand
       and led her beyond them to start her new life
       as his most cherished and beloved young wife

(24)  though the chief felt great sorrow, he was also proud
       to see his dear daughter pass beyond the shroud
       and though he would miss her, he also was sure
       that the love the two shared was blessed and pure

(25)  ever since then it has always been said
       that He-No now blesses all those who are wed
       where Oniagara falls in a wondrous cascade
       or ‘long the banks of the river where his maiden first played

Mother Earth and Father Sun
Night is ending, day’s begun
And in this moment we all meet
I thank you for this life so sweet

To all my many deities
I offer up my fealty
I praise and greet my ancestors
My honoured, bless’d, progenitors

I thank you all and bless you too
For all the boons I have from you
For shelter, food, your guidance too
The faith and hope I have in you

Thanks for loved ones, neighbours, friends
May they have blessings without end
And even for my enemies
I pray one day we’ll live in peace

And beg my gods and ancestors
Protect my (all) kids from predators
From accident and illness too
I pray they’ll be kept safe by you

Now as I start another day
I pray you’ll guide me on my way
Help me do my very best
With this day which I’ve been blessed.

So mote it be!

* a thought * … I often bike before work and have watched the night-blue sky turn to dawn – that special time when the moon and sun smile on the Earth – and find myself saying prayers like this one. With small changes, it’s much the same as what I pray each night, though then I change the first and last stanzas thusly …

Mother Earth and Father Sun
Day is ending, night’s begun
But ‘fore I lay me down to sleep
I thank you for this life so sweet

Now as I end another day
I pray you’ll keep all harm away
Grant I’ll rise when I have rest’
With strength to face my every test

One evening as the sun went down
I wandered onto hallowed ground
‘Long a path ‘tween silent stones
That marked the rest of dust and bones

As the shadows, slow, unfurled
And dew, upon the flowers, pearled
I spied a tree of such great grace
It seemed a monarch of its race

From roots that tightly gripped the earth
Grew a trunk of such great girth
That if two men, stood face to face
They could not have filled an equal space

Its branches grew out, long and low
Protecting many graves below
Then reached up toward the nighted sky
With softly sighing leaves on high

Drawn like a moth to flame
I stepped beneath its leafy frame
And settled down upon one knee
To speak to it most reverently

Great Grandfather, Oh Ancient One
Blessed of the Moon and Sun
Abide my presence, I do pray
For but a moment, may I stay

And though it might be fantasy
I felt, in turn, it greeted me
Peace to you, it seemed to say
As you wish, child, you may stay

So for a time, I rested there
Breathing in its sweet green air
Until a pregnant moon came out
And, at last, I felt some doubt

For it was a cemet’ry
Where dead things are most wont to be
And I was not so awf’ly brave
To be so close to tomb and grave

And as I left, reluctantly,
I cast a last look at the tree
And vowed that I would come again
To spend some time with my old friend

One night while Death was on his rounds
he found her in the burial grounds
a gothic girl as pale as he
with hair of silken ebony
supine upon a granite tomb
her milky gown lit by the moon

All the ages spent alone
then weighed upon his weary bones
so that he craved to hold her near
to taste her lips and call her ‘dear’

And bending low, Death kissed her cheek
felt her heart beat, wild and weak

“I’m sorry! I thought it was time…”
Death knew, then, he’d been out of line
“But when I herd you call my name…”
She laughed, “It’s me! I played a game!”
and slipping off the polished stone
she reached for his hand of bone

“Have we met, we two, before?”
still confused, he wasn’t sure
She said they had once, long ago
though at the time she’d cursed him so!
“You took someone I loved so well
I begged to go with him to hell”

“And I refused,” Death understood
“I’ll make amends, it’s right I should”
And taking hold of her small hand
he took her to his nighted land
where they shared his earthy bed
with a tombstone at it’s head

And somewhere ‘tween the dusk and dawn
while Death and goth-girl got it on
he asked her why she showed no fear
whispered it into her ear
“Because life’s but a gasping breath
that comes between each birth and death”

“That’s quite a truth, from one so young!”
Death tasted of her velvet tongue
The goth girl curled her ruby lips
and met him with her ashen hips
‘Besides, we two have met before
So I knew you’d be back for more!’

Big ‘D’ was charmed right to the bone
and so was loathe to take her home
but ‘fore he left her – said ‘so long’
he wrote for her a mournful song
a dirge composed of bitter tears
of still-born dreams and wasted years

And when, sometimes, Death hears her voice
through the void that’s barred by choice
as she sings of that sweet night
her dark lover held her tight
Death whispers, so no one will hear
except his gothic girl so dear…

Little gothic girl… rock on
dancing to your secret song
ignore the looks that people give
when they see the way you live
’cause when your sweet life’s at an end
Death will be your lover – friend.