November 4, 2021

vardlokkur

amongst the meadows, a forest

in the forest, a clearing

in the clearing, a fence of thorns

inside the fence, a circle of stones


a man there, drumming

a woman there, drumming

a younger woman, singing

an older woman, whispering, rocking


their shadows bend and waver 

making lines of darkness over the grass

dancing with their movements

shifting with the light and cloud-shade


the old woman sees life-lines

like runes etched in sand

taken by the tide

each wave claiming a little more clarity


if the song is rightly sung

if the drumming follows her heart

she may read something there

something precious and true


whirling sun and changeful moon

a tree big enough to hold the world

a sea that birthed all life

transgressions, redemptions


time itself unspools before her 

an evil smoke on the horizon

a rainbow reflected in a pool

which is future, which is past


how to choose the strands

how to read the web

all spins, all flares and wanes

and then, she knows


she reads the people's doom

warp, weft, and woof

from the fate-lines dimming now

vanishing into the air









1 comment:

ashes, ashes...

some of the worst days come when we are nostalgic about something we never really had: true love, certainty, time... our memories hold false...