Elves

By the fern brake, deep and shady,
There I met an elfin lady.
Dressed in cobweb silk and flowers,
There she whiled away the hours,

            Waiting until dark.

On the soft green moss beside her,
Lay a baby wrapped in eider.
Skin so fair and hair like midnight,
The lady watched the coming twilight,

Waiting till ‘twas dark.

Silently, I sat beside her,
Hoping for some words to gather
in my numb and startled mind.
Said the lady, “You’re most kind      

to wait with me till dark.”

“Are you lost?” I asked the lady.
“Is this your home, this fern brake shady?
Will others come by star and Moon?”
She only smiled, began to croon

To the elfin child.

The baby slept. The lady told me
Deep magic of the Earth and Sea.
Spells she whispered, strong and old.
“Use them well,” she said. “Be bold

When spelling in the night.”

“Can I work these?” The lady smiled,
Gathered up her sleeping child.
“Oh yes,” she answered, “’Tis a boon
For waiting with me till the Moon
 
Slips up the sky.”

Thinking deep, I sat beside her,
Keeping watch. I heard the rider
Coming through the fern brake shady.
“Are you there, my lovely lady?”

Called an elfin voice.

An elfin lord, his clothes all viney,
Armed with sword and dagger shiny,
Rode his horse into the fern brake.
Then my heart began to quake
     
On seeing his dark eyes.

Twilight gathered; birds were still.
The Moon came up above the hill.
Suddenly I felt alone.
“Have no fear, for you have sown
  
Good friendship.”

The lady smiled and raised her hand.
Upon her brow a shining band
Glistened by the light of Moon.
“Would you too give forth a boon?”
      
She asked her lord.

“For here is friend, a watcher bold.”
"But they are enemies of old,”
The elf lord answered.

“No,” she said,
“But guarded us in this fern bed.”
  
He smiled.

“So there are some who wish us well.”
His voice was like a distant bell.
A ring he took from off his hand.
“This will tune you to the land
  
and magic.”
.
Its stone was pale, just like the Moon.
The air was filled with eldritch tune,
As they mounted, lord and lady,
rode off through the fern brake shady.
    
I stood alone.
.
People say elves are not there.
But I have heard their voices fair,
When I sit down in the brake.
Magic spells I’ve learned to make

All from the lady.

Elf lord’s ring is on my hand
to help with magic from the land.
Sometimes I talk with lord and lady
In the fern brake, deep and shady,
 
Secretly.

Is there magic? For me ‘tis so.
For when the sun is sinking low,
I feel Earth’s power within my heart
And know that I shall never part
 
From the lord and lady.

- D. J. Conway

- above pitcture "Sleeping Beauty"  by Kinuko Y. Craft

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Goddess, Are You Real?

The little child whispered,
"Goddess, speak to me"
And a meadowlark sang.
But the child did not hear.
So the child yelled,
"Goddess, speak to me!"
And the thunder rolled across the sky
But the child did not listen.
The child looked around and said,
"God, let me see you."
And a star shone brightly
But the child did not notice.
And the child shouted,
"Goddess, show me a miracle!"
And a life was born
But the child did not know.
So the child cried out in despair,
"Touch me God, and let me know you are there!"
Whereupon the God reached down
And touched the child.
But the child brushed the butterfly away
And walked away unknowingly.

.

.

The Good Stuff
(sung by Kenney Chesney)
Well, me and my lady had our first big fight
So I drove around 'till I saw the neon lights
Of a corner bar, It just seemed right, So I pulled up
Not a soul around but the old barkeep
Down at the end and looking half asleep
But he walked up and said what'll it be?
I said the good stuff
He didn't reach around for the whiskey
He didn't pour me a beer
His blue eyes kinda went misty
He said you can't find that here
'Cause it's the first long kiss on a second date
Momma's all worried when you get home late
And droppin' the ring in the spaghetti plate 'cause your hands are shakin' so
much
And it's the way that she looks with the rice in her hair
Eatin' burnt supper the whole first year
And askin' for seconds to keep her from tearin' up
Yeah man, that's the good stuff

He grabbed a carton of milk and he poured a glass
And I smiled and said I'll have some of that
We sat there and talked as an hour passed like old friends
Saw a black and white picture and he caught my stare
It was a pretty girl with mufont hair
He said that's my Bonnie, taken about a year after we wed
He said I spent five years in the bottle when the cancer took her from me
But I've been sober three years now
'Cause the one thing stronger than the whiskey
Was the sight of her holdin' my baby girl
The way she adored that string of pearls
I gave her the day that our youngest boy Earl married his high school love
It's a new t-shirt sayin' I'm a grandpa
Bein' right there as our time got small
And holdin' her hand when The Good Lord called her up
Yeah man, that's the good stuff

He said when you get home she'll start to cry
When she says I'm sorry, say so am I
And look into those eyes so deep in love
And drink it up
'Cause that's the good stuff
That's the good stuff

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Parabola
(Tool from the "Lateralus" Album)

We barely remember who or what came before this precious moment,
We are choosing to be here right now. Hold on, stay inside
This holy reality, this holy experience.
Choosing to be here in

This body. This body holding me. Be my reminder here that I am not alone in
This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal
All this pain is an illusion.

Alive, I

In this holy reality, in this holy experience. Choosing to be here in

This body. This body holding me. Be my reminder here that I am not alone in
This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal
All this pain is an illusion.

Twirling round with this familiar parable.
Spinning, weaving round each new experience.
Recognize this as a holy gift and celebrate this chance to be alive and breathing.

This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality.
Embrace this moment. Remember. We are eternal.
All this pain is an illusion.

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Lateralus
(Tool from the "Lateralus" Album)

Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn beyond the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
Feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines.

Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see there is so much more
and beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn outside the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition leaving all these opportunities behind.

Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.

I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human.

With my feet upon the ground I lose myself
between the sounds and open wide to suck it in,
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out,
I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.

Spiral out. Keep going, going...

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Celtic Dawn Pagan Poetry Pages
Images of Mother