apples given
over to vinegar
drifting through
an open window
mixing with the
nightly ritual of
a neighbor yelling
for his unleashed dogs--
i am holding my
nose at both
Tag: poetry
summer’s end
casting runes — 26sep25
algiz ride that poison horse
down the medicine trail
stop all puppets, dancing ghost
to heartbeat driving
set these broken wings to flying
soaring out, i'm not gonna look backA rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.
Today’s rune is algiz, which may mean either “elk” (there is some uncertainty if this is the case) or yew (Old Norse). It is associated with the Otherworld, protection/sanctuary, and with guardian spirits/fylgja. The unconscious mind is sometimes associated with algiz.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
wounded
Photo by Jon Sailer on Unsplash chain link silvered with
scarlet & black tobacco ties
swaying on the wind
laced leather around that
wear-my-hair-long,
the painted hills still sing
ever the dancing the ghost
against a world hellbent
on feeding the hate machinetossing a rune — 24sep25
hagalaz i step between floe
and river run
waiting for to
carry me homeA 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.
a mirage
hands all at shivers
guns all tremble at those
gone to ghost, should
the tales told be true
is it relief?
is it bounty?
those dust-weathered
posters have lost
their razor's edge
bootblack and road
another foot, another mile
another dime in
a fistful of dirttime to threads
time to threads sever.
pluck thin at beak to hand
frayed twist of warp & wool
sunder and scissor send needle
razor cascade the skin through
blister thorn blister torn
lost teeth at crumble, too
time to threads sever,
slumber, forget there was ever
a tunetossing a rune — 22sep25
jera while most eyes gaze backwards
from summer's twilight hours
wistful and melancholic
with a crooked smile and raised hood
i melt into the coming night
the song of ravens calling me homeA poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is jera. Jera has a translation of “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.
companion piece
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Pexels.com i have a raven
riding on my shoulder
fowl-mouthed, of course
one who cusses up a storm
and you cannot see them
but they ride there
all the same
a nibble on my cuticle
a gnaw upon my nail
a peck upon my fleshy cheek
we get along so wellturning out
Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash a face i wore before
now put upon a shelf
uncertain bare self
raw and scrubbed clear of
façades once dear to me
i scribble, unknowing
becoming senseless with age
forget i once claimed to write
what i spill to ink
has become mystery
reach for the pullchain, please,
and turn out the light
