• And… Billy Bragg is with us, too

    michael raven

    Now, Billy Bragg is a folk musician I do listen to. He wrote a classic tune for Minneapolis in the past few days as well. If you haven’t listened to Billy Bragg before, I recommend you remedy with that below.

    When they came for the immigrants
    I got in their face
    When they came for the refugees
    I got in their face
    When they came for the five-year-olds
    I got in their face
    When they came to my neighborhood
    I just got in their face.

    I will bear witness to terror
    I will bear witness to tyranny
    I will bear witness to murder
    I will bear witness to fascism.

    For reference, a five-year-old was used for bait by ICE to arrest his father. They wouldn’t let the young boy go into the house, and then they took him to Texas with his father against judge’s orders.

    tagged:

    , , , ,

    filed under:

    ,
    11 comments on And… Billy Bragg is with us, too

    To like, click comments or:

    And… Billy Bragg is with us, too

  • Reblog and call to help

    michael raven

    An excellent, extremely talented WordPress writer that I am honored to number as one of my good friends is encountering some major hurdles involving her health and a radical, unexpected life change, both of which are increasing the symptoms of her chronic illness due to the related stresses.

    Someday It Will Be Safe To Write About Everything

    If you have a moment, please go to Jenn’s site and read about some of the details of what she is going through. I know more about the details of the unexpected life changes that she is experiencing, but it is not my place to share that information.

    She could use a crowdsourced solution if one is forthcoming, so if you know anybody who could help Jenn with her growing crisis or know where she might be able to find some assistance (funding, assisted living solutions, etc.) please leave your thoughts in the comments below (comments are turned off on her post, with good reason).

    Please limit suggestions below to those “outside of the box” and please don’t offer up unverified “guesses”, no matter how well-intentioned. If you have solid answers those are always appreciated. She’s already tried to seek help from the more obvious and even some of the less obvious options, and has come up largely empty-handed.

    Please feel free to reblog this post if you think your audience might be able to help out Jenn. The more people who know about what she is dealing with, the more likely a solution will present itself.

    tagged:

    , , , , ,

    filed under:

    17 comments on Reblog and call to help

    To like, click comments or:

    Reblog and call to help

  • casting runes — 29jan26

    michael raven

    kenaz
    burning on the inside
    seeking cooling ground
    to draw this feverdream
    from head to stone

    A rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.

    Today’s rune is kenaz, which has been translated as both “torch” and “ulcer” . It is conceived as symbolic of flame, which is the illuminated creativity as well as the source of purification/healing/cautery. Fire is a a source of transformation and unmaking as well as heat, passion and light. As an ulcer, kenaz can be associated with a fever or inflammation, perhaps a wound which requires healing.

    Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.

    tagged:

    , , ,

    filed under:

    4 comments on casting runes — 29jan26

    To like, click comments or:

    casting runes — 29jan26

  • Jackbooted thug files — 29jan26

    michael raven

    Just to provide a very short update as to the situation in Minnesota, nothing has meaningful changed here on the ground with the switching of leadership (sic) personnel. The only cool-down we are witnessing is the cool-down of rhetoric from a corrupt administration realizing they made an unforced error by demonizing Alex Pretti, who was murdered in cold blood at the hands of masked thugs in flak jackets and carrying military-grade hardware for exercising TWO of his Constitutional rights (freedom of speech and the right to bear arms, the second of which, mind you he never removed from the holster and was never in his hand during the altercation). And that rhetoric is even ramping up again. Why? Because the Trump minions (and toddler in chief, Dotard Donnie, especially) are incapable of keeping their mouths shut when the best thing to do is just shut up.

    Don’t believe the hype when they say that they are trying to bring down the temperature. That’s bullshit. They’re doing anything but.

    (more…)

    tagged:

    , , , , , ,

    filed under:

    16 comments on Jackbooted thug files — 29jan26

    To like, click comments or:

    Jackbooted thug files — 29jan26

  • recollection

    michael raven 

    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?

    tagged:

    , , ,

    filed under:

    5 comments on recollection

    To like, click comments or:

    recollection

  • Half-penny thoughts — 28jan26

    michael raven

    I feel like being more lighthearted today. Rather than write all kinds of serious words about my thinking on something, I am deciding to post a “just-for-fun” question to see if anyone is interested in a little mock game of truth or dare. Use one of the off-the-cuff examples below to answer my relatively absurd question, or come up with your own response. Please note, they are all not obviously standard responses to the question. Try to keep it in that spirit if you come up with something different.

    Which is sexier in your mind?

    • A tome of dusty old words largely lost to the vagaries of time?
    • A score tucked into a sealed plaster wall from a dead composer that was never recognized for their genius?
    • Petals floating by on a slow-moving stream in a snow-covered landscape?
    • Poetry whispered into a dark room with an audience of one lonely ghost?
    • Fangs of a vampire resting on your skin, but not quite breaking it?
    • Or something entirely different from the above? Be creative, be nonstandard.

    Just curious what folks decide and come up with/decide upon. There is absolutely no motive aside from that. The only condition is that it must actually appeal to you when you post in the comments if it isn’t one of those suggested.

    Either admit one sounds appealing (Truth) or propose your own. If you Dare.

    tagged:

    , , , ,

    filed under:

    31 comments on Half-penny thoughts — 28jan26

    To like, click comments or:

    Half-penny thoughts — 28jan26

  • casting runes — 28jan26

    michael raven

    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.

    tagged:

    , , ,

    filed under:

    10 comments on casting runes — 28jan26

    To like, click comments or:

    casting runes — 28jan26

  • of evensong

    michael raven

    sunlight shining through old growth woods
    Photo by Simon Wilkes on Unsplash

    All that could be seen was ankle; your ankle, in fact. My face was against your bare calf, warmed in the golden glow of early summer evensong atop the old elm-crowned hillock, your fingers tangled in my hair. Narrowed of focus by my heavy eyelids, dreamy for ebb and flow of cicada drones — narrowed so I could drink in that ankle of yours, the sight of which being mead that made my head dizzy drunk and the linger of a kiss honey sweet.

    Someone hummed a tuneless song and I never did discover if it was you or me. But neither of us moved in the fading day’s heat. Not wanting to break the thralling spell, I just lay there, feeling the pulse of your blood against my cheek as I bathed in the vision of your ankle and the massage of your fingers in my hair.

    tagged:

    , , ,

    filed under:

    5 comments on of evensong

    To like, click comments or:

    of evensong

  • Trobairitz verse — Comtessa Beatriz de Dia

    michael raven

    On a whim this morning, I decided to reeducate myself on the history of medieval troubadours and their songs/poetry of courtly love, fin’amor, and found myself more drawn to their female counterparts, the trobairitz, who trended away from the complex, flowery language of the troubadour (who wrote more in the trobar clus, closed, hermetic style; or trobar ric, technically complex style) and more into what is termed the trobar leu, the “light” or “easy” style, for which the trobairitz were known.

    While I have vague recollections of the troubadour poetry from when I last read any around thirty years ago, I felt it was good time as any to refresh that memory in case I might see it differently after such a passage of time. Instead, I think, I found my more true interest in the trobairitz, as I don’t think the material I was reading at the time did much more than make a cursory mention of their works.

    Their lyrical poetry may be more to my speed.

    One of the lyrical works of Comtessa Beatriz de Dia, a trobairitz, follows. I thought it would of interest to some folks.

    (more…)

    tagged:

    , , ,

    filed under:

    6 comments on Trobairitz verse — Comtessa Beatriz de Dia

    To like, click comments or:

    Trobairitz verse — Comtessa Beatriz de Dia

  • casting runes — 27jan26

    michael raven

    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.

    tagged:

    , , ,

    filed under:

    2 comments on casting runes — 27jan26

    To like, click comments or:

    casting runes — 27jan26