Tag: poetry

  • casting runes — 05dec25

    othala
    emerging ash smudged &
    marked as nowhere
    from the beginning—
    back to the barrow
    on a dark wood trail
    lined of poppets & treats

    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.

  • waiting drawn

    cord bound in lace and
    burning wheels
    to find my way back
    to ringwood fires and
    turquoise nights that
    i can never wipe 
    from my mind's eye...

    ragged lips become
    a stolen kiss, there 
    upon empty mounds

    long has waiting drawn
    for her there still

  • after the flesh

    it is unkindness
    painted a dark blade
    they deliver blindside
    a haunted wondering
    of what was left
    unsaid in the
    somespace beside
    as black warmth
    clings cooling
    after the flesh

  • casting runes — 04dec25

    fehu
    i traded too much away
    for comfort's sake—
    i would give back
    most of my gold
    in exchange for
    a simple block of wood

    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.

  • red red wine

    Photo by Andriyko Podilnyk on Unsplash
    on the drift
    i close my eyes
    beckon & recall
    raw chapped lips
    stained red red wine
    yours, mine, both—
    who could tell?

    in thrall;
    that was the day
    of my dying

  • casting runes — 03dec25

    gebo
    for what seems a forever
    i have made myself a gift,
    ready to trade this chilled cheek
    for a summer's kiss from you

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

    Today’s rune is gebo, which has a core meaning of “gift”. This relates to all forms of reciprocity: transaction, generosity, hospitality and sacrifice (in the sense of giving up something). It may also mean offering up a talent or skill, and may suggest a synergistic, possibly romantic, relationship.

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

  • another tangle

    Campfire
    Photo by Ville Palmu on Unsplash
    another tangle of winter
    at slick crags open water
    i shed these bones for you

    chisel shadow, wax & stain
    heartbeat heavy slow
    ancestors flow on whisper

    gather flame of heartwood
    collect forgotten songs
    here raises laughter
    here we belong

  • catscratch

    with skin kissed in rope burns
    and pricked of thorns
    sheets stained of summer and
    whispers screamed at forlorn

    all barbed with catscratch
    do you desire anything more?

  • casting runes — 02dec25

    dagaz
    drawn to earth
    more than that just under
    ragged-hewn fingernails
    scratching at blood soil—
    toss aside your frame-drum
    and follow me down

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

    Today’s rune is dagaz, which has been translated as “daybreak”, that transitional moment between night and day. By extension, it might also be interpreted as “twilight” and is representative of liminality, transformation, the space between worlds, and suggests walking in both the material world and otherworld.

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

  • some kind of old

    getting old is when
    you've lived too long
    after folks once laid odds
    on if you'd see
    twenty-nine

    it feels like
    some kind of old
    a very steel grey 
    kind of day