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Pagan Poetry 1995/1996

Corn, Squash, and Beans

As Summer ripens into gold
We beseech you, Sisters Three:
Come into our gardens now
Feed us through the winter's cold
Human Beings are hungry
See, the earth is tired dust
Bring the rain to swell the streams
And bless us with your bounty.

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Greenwitch

-- an invocation to Airmid

Airmid,
Herbwife,
Mistress of the Healing Green,
We call on Thee:

Turn our gardens with the Nourishing Earth
Twine our forests with the Vines of Life
Touch our hearts with the Sight Beyond Sight
That we may do Thy work here where Thou cannot easily reach.

Here we have planted holy herbs
Pleasing to Thee, shaped in the long snakes
Of sacred knotwork. Come walk among them
And be welcome now. Bless them
With Thy sweet breath that they may serve us well.

Bless us likewise with Thy knowledge
Yet always leaving hunger to learn more. Teach us,
Greenwitch,
The Ways of Making lost so long ago. Remind us
What we once knew and need to know again.
We have made ourselves ready for Thee
And come with open hearts and open hands.

Weed Woman, the ways of the wild are known to Thee
As dearly as the groomed garden.
Speaker to Leaves, all the plants of this planet
Whisper their secrets to Thee.
Daughter of Danu, Goddess of the Tuatha de Danaan,
Even the Hollow Hills open their hearts to Thee.
How could we not do likewise?

In this Circle of Air and Earth
In this frame of Fire and Water all bridged with Spirit
We call on Thee,
Airmid, to walk among us
Now.

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In Deepest Appreciation

I give thanks
for the company
and comfort of my partner:
for the heart that paces beat for beat with mine
for the mind that matches every thought I own
for the soul that lights the fires of my faith
and the candles of my constancy.

I give thanks
to the Patrons of passion,
of harmony, of love and lust and
dear sweet affection in all their forms:
to Oshun, Woman With the River in Her Walk
to Herne, who tosses his horns at the Goddess every fall
to Venus, foam-flecked and ocean-born
to Cupid with his blessed bow
to Inanna, who calls her husband to the sacred bed and
to Dumuzi, who answers Inanna
to Hestia the mistress of hearth and heart
and to all the others who look with compassion
on lovers and beloveds.

I give thanks
for the privilege
of twining my life with another's
the most intimate divinity I can imagine.

I call you tonight
not to ask but to answer
not to request but to return:
you have given me the greatest gift
you have lifted me and my partner on the wings of love
and for this I wish only to express
my deepest appreciation.

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Come to the Goddess

Come to the Well at the heart of the world
Moonbeams and starlight all silverly swirled

Come to the Circle set high on the hill
Where no man ventures and none ever will

Come to the Fire that burns fierce and bright
Help keep the beacon that shines through the night

Come to the Winds where they fall from the sky
Take up the tales that they tell as they fly

Come to the Shrine where all souls leap up free
Sing to the Lady of Mountain and Sea!

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Betwixt and Between

Autumn fire:
The old year falls to ashes, the chaff
Wafts away in the wind.

Burn down the candle of the day:
Hot wax runs like tears,
Black wick curls like the coal of a heart.

Leaves go up in a blaze of glory:
Cinnamon, crimson, and lemon
Tangerine, amber, lambent gold.

O wild time:
Storm-crowned nights ablaze with rain!
Fleet days alive with china skies!

The season spins on the point of a pin:
Year-wheel turning from summer to snow
Everywhere, changes in the wind.

That which was, is no more
That which is to come, is not yet come:
In this instant, autumn.

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Firesong

Salamander,
What do you see in me?
My reflection stares out from the flames.
Your gaslight eyes trap my gaze
And I cannot help but wonder
What you see in my mine.
I hear the fire call my name.
Hiss and whisper, you are here. I know
You are real. I can taste your heat
On my tongue
Each time I breathe.
The fire watches me
As I dance. My skin glistens
With sweat, silken as wind, wild
As ice. What am I to you, oh,
And what are you to me?
Firesong, siren song ...
You dance through me, I dream through you
Licking the night away
Like a lollipop.
Salamander, you see me
I see you too. Together we
Weave magic.

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Comments?

The URL for this page is http://www.worthlink.net/~ysabet/spirit/paganpoe_1996.html and it was last updated on October 13, 1998.