Category: poetry

recollection

do you recall wrists
bound in sailor's knot or
was that only wraith?

memories from mists or
merely smoke & mirrors?
tell me true, did years burn?

beautiful darkling,
do you recall the gloaming
of our changeling time?

28 Jan 26

casting runes — 28jan26
tiwaz
```
with each sacrifice
another face steps forward
to fill the empty space

we will not waver.
justice must be served.
```
A poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is tiwaz, which is named after the Norse god Týr, and the second weekday (Tuesday) is named for the god. According to Norse myth, Týr offers his right hand to the wolf Fenrir, who bites it off when he realizes the gods have used the offering to distract the wolf while they bind him. The rune is typically considered symbolic of honor, loyalty and justice, as well as of sacrifice. It may be representative of discipline and faith. Some interpretations have associated the rune with the North Star.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
28 Jan 26
casting runes — 27jan26
fehu
```
ages of drought
fields left fallow
these bones & stones &
the withered dusty husk
ache for the love of rain
```
A poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is fehu, which has a core meaning of “cattle” or a more generalized “livestock”, which was a representation of personal wealth or earned prosperity. Sometimes luck played a role. Wealth and prosperity was valued, but was looked down upon when material accumulation appeared to be excessive, greedy, miserly or turned to hoarding, especially when those around you were lacking.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
27 Jan 26

chaos

woke up tired
washed up
dragged down
undertow and gone
rip tide out away
from shore
past jagged
black stones
piercing waves
and the ocean
it pulled me
so far away
until i approached
a ninth wave

i woke up tired
washed up
not needing their
chaos riding home

26 Jan 26

casting runes — 26jan26
ansuz
```
left to dangle at
the ol' hanging tree &
i cannot breathe
without you
mouth to mouth
```
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. 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.
26 Jan 26
casting runes — 25jan26
ingwaz
```
oh sure, they said
put your head inside, they said
inside, you'll find a grand surprise

it was all the rage, & so we did
one cinch, one twist
& we pushed dead
```
A rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.
Today’s rune is ingwaz, a rune named after the god Ing or Freyr. It is representative of a channeled energy or transformational process. It is also be seen as the male component of life, and therefore a symbol of sexual passions and the contributed “seed” of life (and, therefore, an aspect of one’s ancestral ørlǫg, or fate/destiny). Some interpretations conceive the rune as a symbol of darkness, solitude or dreaming.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
25 Jan 26
Carving
Photo by Samuel Quek on Unsplash
Black sands and dragging blades… Darkstone scattered with bright ice standing. The skies cast grey and still I drag heavy steel, carving sigils through the wave-rippled beach between tides. Some even recall a something of you and your laughter when you forget it should be broken, but the carrion drown out the song with their raucous calls, and so I must strain to hear.
“You should leave those birds behind,” someone suggests and I remind, “Then there is only spiders, and spiders weave different signs than these.
“And a fox, when they are so inclined,” I add, an afterthought. That fox has decided to be less inclined of late. So I hesitate.
Back to: drag and recall, carving both glyph and secret names in those small hours when most are asleep.
I should be lost, I think. Let them shibari my wrists in wire, lift me on wave and bury me deep. Our heart heavies this hurt just so.
23 Jan 26
casting runes — 23jan26
isaz
```
quenching raging flames to
let passions give to slumber &
burn low with eyes half-closed
embracing winter beauty as
ephemeral as the dream
```
A rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.
Today’s rune is isaz, a rune that is translated as the word “ice”. Sources associate isaz with a calmness, present moment or stillness. As ice, isaz is sometimes associated with standstill, stagnation, stasis or contraction; even at times as pristine beauty with seductive qualities.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
23 Jan 26

we hunger

hunger at the dog end day
teeth aching for a bite with
no right, straining to
contain the wolf inside

they might imagine
they know, they know
but they never feel
the gnawing of a beast
from inside, that one
which hungers tonight

22 Jan 26

casting runes — 22jan26
ehwaz
```
if you were to call—
i would ride with wings
on the dream
seeking to draw those
poison years
away from your heart
```
A poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is ehwaz, which has a core meaning of “horse”. A horse is often associated with journeys, travel and movement. By extension, it also implies symbiosis with another living creature or fylgja (guardian spirit), and the rune is associated with loyalty or trust. Any undertaken journey may be spatial, emotional or spiritual.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
22 Jan 26