paper bark and
fine hair flutters
on the pale winds
chasing ripples
over a secret lake
For a change of pace, I decided to revisit ogam/ogham for a poetry prompt tool. As with the Elder Futhark runes, I randomly select one of the ogam fid as a prompt for a bit of micropoetry.
Because I have a poorly-developed sense of humor, the title of this post refers to a variant of the word, fid, “few”. While still in common usage, “few” is not technically accurate to describe the letter — but I like my wordplay.
Beithe (in Old Irish, beith in modern Irish) means “birch”. The fid has a number of cryptic meanings depending on the kenning or its inclusions in the medieval word lists of the filli, including: white, pheasant, livelihood, “withered foot with fine hair”, and “beauty of the eyebrow”, amongst many, many others.
I do not embrace Robert Graves’ mystical meanings as I feel they are not based in scholarship and that they disagree with people who have made a lifetime study of the ogam. While there is evidence of possible filli-coding within the letters (per the lists poets were made to memorize), there is little evidence that magical meaning was the intent and the association with magic appears to be a modern invention… But that is another post.
Perhaps I’ll eventually bring fid back and finish my in-depth exploration of their meanings.
Poetry is my incantation; writing, my ritual…
badh touched my shoulder
as i held the remains of
old friends in a wooden box
i turned to the battle crow
as she leaned forward
laying her night beak
on my pale lips in kiss
numbing my flesh to tingle
well after i woke under
the reapers moon
all out of space
all out of time
carving the sickle moon
and dancing wrists
i slip back to stone
where blood runs thick
perhaps it is home
eye closed become fells
the pale and the grey
lichen and moss the taiga
blue, sage and stained
this grows home and stone
of a passing day, lost
etch me bone and twig
paint me undercloud
sway the cattails and
rain down
Previously posted on sceadugenga.com on 18mar25. Reposted with audio.
going back to the real
hands smudged black
and dirt under nails
gravel yellow crush
i listen at forests for
wisdom crowing loud
leave to crowds where
crowds are wont to go
enough of deaf gods mute
i am not what they need
left to wending paths
through silent sentinels
gone to follow the call
standing grey
heron stone tall
can you carve the
shape of me?
can you carry the
weight of me?
slate skies over
of the under below
mouth to mouth
sends us to hum
mouth to mouth
cages winter sun
i fever weary
slaked in slick
slaked in foam
beyond threes of three
tide cold carry me
tide cold carry me home
with flames burning
bright in his head
he wanders woodward
his wodewose embraced
in feather and bone and
of ash and of stone
he slips between
shadow and shade
that lailoken of lake
and of forests aglow
tangled christine &
soldiers marching tin
on shadows & smoke
with eyes casting stars
--how bright they are
a shower glittershines down
