
to go back to mud
root in and ashen
rest awhile & slumber
winter in the long
dark come
this scrimshawed heart
slenders back to
a lingering song
playing on the wire
in the wind

to go back to mud
root in and ashen
rest awhile & slumber
winter in the long
dark come
this scrimshawed heart
slenders back to
a lingering song
playing on the wire
in the wind
all daggers deserved,
crimson drifts to drain

to spell you a song
of under dusk breath
of under branched canopy
we tanglelimbs wending
through winds these twine
riding old ash tonight
A poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is ansuz, which has a core meaning “a god” (intended to be Odin), “mouth” or “breath”. Odin is representative of many, many things… in this case, ansuz is most representative of the mouth/breath (speech) that gives life to poetry, magic, song, language, and spirit — largely inseparable in the Viking worldview — and Odin is considered the supreme master of these intertwined concepts.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
my jawbone in hand
waving away at wraiths
i offer this token for all
the insults & cruelties
it is not much, agreed
but it may yet yield
glass satisfaction at
the end of your fist

digging for roots to
see what grows below
but there is no
untangling of that weave
so cover it back with soil
A poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is pertho, which has a disputed meaning and there is some indication that the ascribed meanings might be corruptions. The general consensus is that there is likely some relationship to ørlǫg (fate/destiny), luck/gambling or hidden knowledge.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
grey fading crabbed hand
clutching for the only, sleep
her slow eyes follow, arthritic
waiting on a sharp grin crooked
while he shambles thresholds
waiting for felling to come

destiny is cruel and uncaring
making itself known by
streetlight halo wee hours
leaving restless and waiting
those wraiths that haunt
still the night, unforgiven

come with me and
let us slumber and
dream without
nightmare or pain
let our winter
bury us under
for long dark nights
our bones entangled
skin drawn tight
let us slumber in
that everlasting kiss
and evermore
mouth bound in suture
arms bound to rust
untrust flowing through veins
mortar & bricks mine,
the real horrorshow
in contraction
pulling back to that
gloaming within
shuttering up spaces
where the light gets in
shush now