bone dreaming
we rattle under ash
crisp as leaves
kissed of rime
bone dreaming
we slip that streaming
to rest at sieidi
longing of the everlast
Category: poetry
bone dreaming
tossing a rune — 07nov25
ansuz burned onto
my heartwood black
hung over meltwaters
the old gals sing spears
to the blindA 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. By way of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, the rune is named æsc, which is translated to “ash”, a tree associated with Odin and is representative of resilience and strength.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
nonsense verse
we cut away the fat:
there is sun, there is moon
there are seasons and stars
there is above and below
and there might even be here
there are stones and plants
the living and the dead
what more can
you really desire?hermitage calling
Photo by Ville Palmu on Unsplash hermitage calling,
i shuffle to mountaintops
to sweep out the debris
from my simple shack
a facet of memory,
what hint of comradery;
it is slow work with
a single black quill
but it pleases
spirits when i do—
we flamegaze the dusk
telling tales 'til dawn
between long silencescasting runes — 06nov25
berkana pale lady riverside
beckoning down narrow trails
to where soul & spirit dwell
carved of wood &
filling of stoneA poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is berkana, which translates to “birch”. Birch are associated with earth-mother and maternal energies. Because birch is a “pioneer tree” which tends to grow in advance of other tree growth — especially after forest fires — berkana is associated with renewal and rebirth. Additionally, berkana has ties to liminal thresholds of all types, especially those paths to the underworld.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
dirges
a dreaming of you
and shadowfell in
the forgetting at wake
they sang love dirges
in the fading away
slipping umbral
of fingers slight
the better suture
my lips tightchimaera
you grass your bare feet
at the lowing of the sun
crisp the burning red
and dying golds,
soles arched against
the gathering of the cold
and eyes gone grey
for the wanting
as eventide draws
long shadows lowmere porn
in succumbing to the circlejerk
and inoculated in our pleasuredome
we have lost all that's real
the nausea seasons every meal and
our bedmates, a chalked parkside fuck you
and in-between the constant commercial breaks
ever promise made: mere porncasting runes — 03nov25
othala i return to sieidi,
for that is of which
i am born.
between bear & crow
river runs in stillness
my long hair windblown
as the old man sweeps
out a homeA poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is othala, which has a core meaning of “heritage”, “inheritance” and “legacy”. These are all associated with home, kin, ancestors, stability and (in some interpretations) past lives or spiritual legacy.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
underground you
i slipstream wait
the skies grey move
shifting, a spell
tangled in
a game of you
slip down corridors
stone and steel
dragging sparks
bright stars in an
underground you
