with talons in scalp & neck
with gravel voice inside head
black blade scraping skull
within red cedar rising tall...
someone rode their wild horse
& that someone was not me
Tag: poetry
wild horse
casting runes — 04feb26
ansuz sharp breath intake,
razor sharp shredding
everything inside
an uncaged spirit
given to fresh singingA 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.
undesirable
when they came with
their rail cars and
their razor wire,
will it be a step too far
then?
or will you look away
as you say, at least
it's not us, it's them?briar tangled between
Photo by Justin Wilkens on Unsplash all that is owned is empty or
flaking rust from dull razors
drawing ley from
rope raw wrist to
hangman's etching,
all briar tangled betweencasting runes — 03feb26
laguz well met we at the sieidi
standing at watch of water
a hand change hand
a breath touch song
a call to crow new dawnsA poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is laguz, which has a core meaning of “lake” and, by extension, may be interpreted as “river”, “ocean”, “sea”, “waterfall” or a general body of water. Some alternative interpretations define as “leek”. Following the more commonly accepted meaning, bodies of water were considered liminal spaces, a place between life and death or the threshold space between which spirit and substance resides. Laguz is often associated with feminine energies and journeys via water.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
one breath &
ache on more mantic &
less onto dreaming
hand pat knee thigh
tears eye entwine
a dollar thin love
cut from small bones
touch a tear to tongue
& linger nectar sweet...
something stolen in
that silence between
one breath & the nextshadow to light
Photo by Jimmy Liu on Unsplash something dies
something arises
both will end
in blood and in tears
wetting chapped lips
sharp ends dragged
ragged across
it all
come close to hold
both to small and in mouse
let us gaze upon limeslit
scrim and heavy
past aged oak and envy
here is the tale of night
in where
something dies
something arises
something comes of
shadow to lightcasting runes — 02feb26
hagalaz in dream confusion
hands changing hands
eyes changing eyes
under a foxfire glow
in slipstream shift
along parallel rowsA rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.
Today’s rune is hagalaz, which has a core meaning of “hail”, which was associated with potential, transformation, renewal and change; hail is imagined a seed from which change will arise. Hagalaz is also seen as representative of things beyond our control: a clash between fire and ice.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
slip away
chasing deaths head moths
through night gardens no more
and trying to catch falling stars
ribbon cuts hands and so
i wrap myself in nadir's velvet
and slip away from shorecasting runes — 01feb26
uruz cold drizzle falls
on stiff unyielding backs;
we endure as they
break their brittle metal
on our hardened resolveA rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.
Today’s rune is uruz. The rune is named after the now-extinct aurochs, a wild ox and has become associated with standing up to challenges, having both confidence and courage, stubborn tenacity, and boundless strength and health. Uruz is alternately associated with the more raw elements which include rain, primordial potential, and the slag/dross cast away during the making of iron.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
