Tag: poetry

  • casting runes — 25sept26

    jera
    hand in hand
    through wynds & narrows
    'twixt sunlight & shadows
    we are but phantasms
    within the dream

    A poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.

    Today’s rune is jera. Jera is translated as “year”, and has also been translated as “harvest”. This rune is representative of cycles, the “wheel of the year”, the union of opposites (implied by the summer half of the year ending, winter half of the year beginning), balance, as well as cause/effect relationships.

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

  • skipped

    standing here
    waiting for my turn
    to come around
    only to discover my number
    was skipped
    a long time ago

  • flint drags night

    with red eyes raw
    for sleepless, searching
    for whatever bone is
    left of love lies scattered
    stone shores washing
    ocean in every latinate
    spoken crossing white crests
    while flint drags
    night to morning

  • casting runes — 24sept26

    wunjo
    deep the well &
    little from which
    to draw except
    sharp objects—
    flint, bone & nail

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

    Today’s rune is wunjo, which is translated as “joy” and has been interpreted in both the earthly sense as well as in spiritual ecstasy. It has been associated with healing (emotional, mental and interpersonal) and some sources connect the rune to luck, the act of making a wish, or applied will. Wunjo can also be the inspiration for creativity.

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

  • casting runes — 23sept26

    ansuz
    brack-a-crack &
rattle bone branch,
grey on the autumn come

howling hollow places
our breath down low
gather change winds
come them home

    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.

  • when we winter

    all we stand pines
    many winds we speak
    dark heartwood groves
    our brown on ground
    in skirts found flowing
    below in chinese whispers
    carried around, around
    until all sense lost falls

    when we winter, 
    we crackle & pop

  • casting runes — 22sept26

    hagalaz
    searching for stones
    inside of stones —
    bramble clings to rags

    A 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.

  • drawing zero

    with words flailing
    at razor-reaped wind
    all bramble eyed with
    teeth like wine and
    vignettes stained with sin
    i step jingled jester
    over broken ends
    to begin everything
    once again

  • page after page

    fuel the flames with
    page after page fed
    given to thorns like wine
    dragged slow like night
    three a.m. three a.m. mind
    twisting sheets around
    and around like throats

    it's the same story
    same haunt given
    this time again,
    as i am burning
    page after page
    again.

  • in high plains

    do not effusivate me.

    i sun-bleached bone
    on hardpan salts or
    sage scrub windblown
    in high plains more

    rat-a-rat-a-rattlesnake me
    with venom bite deep, for
    that is how i know
    the depth of love

    wash me in moonlight
    while smudging out thorn
    sweat trails ribs after
    black roads ride