one day,
i will slip into the long sleep &
awaken in the october country
to the scent of crisp leaves with
a hint of hoar on the morn
that is where we will meet again
everything said & everything done,
forgiven
in the meanwhile,
you recall vestiges of voice &
i catch fragments of face &
each will look to old stone north
under a clatter of crows calling
"look to the east" or
"look to the west" to two
stubborn thorns
Category: poetry
in the meanwhile
casting runes — 20aug26
othala at night the Old Ones are the only things real. they stand fireside silent, slow as stone waiting for Whiteoak to fall.
A 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.
twin & out
mournful grey stands
ragged cliffs today
twin flint eyes
& ocean out
twin flint hearts
& ocean out
cut black sheets of
wave & skies meet
twin flint eyes
& ocean out
twin stone hearts
& ocean out
keen, rises she
keen, shards he
twin flint eyes
& ocean out
twin stone hearts
& ocean outat giving grounds
gone by way
of shadow & wind
in swaying sheaves
gold gather the fields
low the stone walls
that let creeks
still run through
is that frost i hear?
creeping bone within
giving grounds knelt
at boulder trees grown
rock tripe in grey & blue
lay down plates
come gentle the rain
as they do
moor songs, mere
awash with that
salt huecasting runes — 17aug26
sowilo insight at sharp claws, sharper teeth a hint of lemons— how shall we name our many ghosts?
A rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.
Today’s rune is sowilo, the sun. Sowilo is the source of enlightenment, for lighting the way and illumination. It is also called the “icebreaker” and gives power to an “attack”, ensuring success and/or prosperity. This rune also represents hope, the light at the end of a long darkness.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
today, i will fox
cool under leaf shadow
flicker of sun of shine
bright against black loam
stretching pale under
fibre and web and green
let detritus weave the hair
to carry back on den
today, i will fox and they
can pretend i am mad —
i will laugh because
laughter is easier
than arguing
instead:
i bark the night
with finger roots digging
flame through humus
i ring too-green lawns
come morning
burning naked
under cool leaf shadowwell deep unwrought
i well deep this in
unwrought stone
grow moss long
at evergloam
naught but echo
keening of mouth
howling of heart
brittle, broken,
ravaged & worn
here of my well deep
in unwrought stoneno new tales
it blurs into mediocrity
as yellow-edged pages
feather to glitched pixel &
stories melt to meta
with every twist of the
knotted hangman’s trope
it may have become truth
laid out in black & white:
perhaps, there are
no new tales to tell
but do try.
