Post by Mira O'Halloran on Feb 23, 2011 23:38:17 GMT -5
I'd completely forgot about this till King Ari reminded me about it. so here's my the favourite of my personal writings.
Enjoy!
© Rebecca M Atkins
22/10/09
As The Journeys Multiply
Embraced within the darkness
I crept across the moor
Having made each footstep
A hundred times or more
This was the last time in which my feet
Would step upon this ground
I’d make my way away from them
I can never by them be found
The night was cold the fog was thick
And I just had to smile
Dancing to my own beat
For just a little while
So as I fled across the plain
Leaving behind my life
I knew where I could hide myself
From this stupid strife
And so I found the wandering tribe
On the moonlit forest floor
Trying my very hardest
To forget the Faery Lore
See, in my village,
The Faery Lore was a threat
It was a way to keep everyone
Under control, I bet…
An elder came to me and said
"Smoke should have been your end
But you grasped your fate
And made it to your own will bend
The hunters are still after you
Of this, you can be sure
For you wore your footsteps
Into a path upon the moor"
Stricken now I looked to him
Horror in my eyes
I told him of the accusations
Of my neighbours lies
He said to me he understood
For I was not the first
Many had fallen victim
To the bloodsheds thirst.
The days became a blur as
With the tribe I stayed
Losing all I’d left behind
Was the price I paid
The forest then became my home
As its ways I learned
I knew that I’d escaped the fate
Of a witch who was to be burned
I learnt the ways of pagan folk
How to live in harmony
With the trees and flowers
Bird, butterfly and bee
But I felt apart from them
Like I was out of place
Changing my habits of living
Going the slower pace
At first it seemed too hard to grasp
But it started to make sense
Like I was trapped in a garden
But I made it over the fence
So women taught me the woman’s role,
And my life began anew
The way they lived it was so simple
In all the tasks they would do
I'd worked my way into their way
I got into their lives
Turns out I had caught the eye
Of the maker of the knives
The way to court was different now
As it was simple too
No pomp, bluster, gifts, grand talk
Not so many things to do
Instead, we talked, we listened, laughed
Staying out till well past dark
The only permission needed was mine
T'was free of religious mark
And one cold day, next winter on
Our lives became entwined
We started a new journey then
One of each others kind
Things moved so fast, they moved so slow,
They changed with changes pace
I quickly learnt to not resist
To move with accepting grace
My partner built a caravan,
A house on wheels, he said
"We have to travel sometime soon
My mind it feels so dead."
Change is good, I replied
"For it means you're moving forward"
And who knows where this may take us
Past hill, lake and fjord
And it was not so long after that
That we began our journey of travel
And it was here that I wondered
Could the mysteries of the world I unravel?
It was so quickly that my desires faded at the scenery untamed
As I felt I’d burst with awe
I thought I’d seen all of natures wonders,
But around each corner was always revealed one more
Endless gently sloping hills,
Covered in green that seemed to wave
Mountains that seemed to loom overhead,
And there was always more I’d crave
And more I got, in many ways
While we were scoping out the land
First a boy and then a girl,
Hard at first, 'til I got used to the demand.
Horse to the front
Partner to the side
Children sleeping in the back
On this current ride
We've seen nearly everything
That lies on this land
Soon time to move on
Give in to wanderers’ demand
Up north we’ll head
Where the wind is cold
The land unforgiving
But it’s power old
And so we turned our attention now
To where the water met the land
The stormy blue exciting me
As I walked to it over drear yellow sand
It was a few months journey, they said,
To the land of Lakes and Ice
It was one that was easy enough,
If you could put up with all the mice
We knew that it was where to be
And if this was the only way
Then so be it, we'd take it
The voyage would start the next day
And so we sailed,
The air becoming colder
I never thought that I could feel
A land that was older
Then the land became visible
Barely so, through the snow
When we were close enough
Into the longboats to row
My surprise was evident
As we stepped on frozen shore
It has beauty of the likes
I've never seen before
Forward we went through snow and forest
Using every caution known
Then a hooded figure approached us
She was an old crone
"You needn't worry." She cackled,
As the children looked concerned
My partner looking worried
As my stomach churned
"Look around, can you feel?"
"There's power in this land."
She looked annoyed as back we stepped
She reached out for my hand
"Feel it, child, Feel it deep."
"For it comes from where we stand."
"The power you feel in me runs deep."
"It flows through out the land."
For many days and nights we stayed
Her house became our home
We shared with her the things
We'd learnt while on the roam
And in turn we did our learning
Of folklore, of truths of the North
We learnt of dragons, of the old power,
Of the warriors striding forth
Falling in to memories old
Of the place of whence I’d came
Before the tribe I was a villager
Caught in a deadly game
The tribe had let me make them home
And within their strength I grew
I learnt of things like magick power
And so my real knowledge began to accrue
I met my mate, we'd continued life
And we began to roam
Our horse and caravan was all we had
It became our home
And here we are so far from that,
Not feeling out of place
The way of life so different
But enjoying the new space
Back I came to reality
Hearing the cracking of ice
Very closely to the house
I hear a wolf howl twice
I slowly smile, things are fine
Everyone's asleep
Time for me to be a-bed
And fall into the deep
A yell of shock wakes me up
My partner is wide eyed
I look to him, follow his gaze
And then I nearly die
For in the room,
Standing bold without a care
Large and brown,
Paying us no heed - a bear.
We had been warned
That bears pose a threat
And now to keep calm
And keep it from upset
I close my eyes,
And slowly take a breath
Feeling deeply
Coming face to face with death
My partner rolls out of the bed,
And my eyes I keep them shut
I do not care for methods
Of getting this bear out of our hut
I hear the children's quiet whispers
I sit up and motion them to me
"What will happen mum?" one asks
I hope my fear they do not see
"He'll be fine, don't you fear"
I said in words which held no hope
But in truth I knew the future -
I don't know how I’d cope
I jump with a start
And the children scream
There's a crash in smithy
I wonder if it's a dream
A few crashes follow a roar
Mingled with a shout
Metal rings clear in the air
And now I start to doubt
All falls quiet in the smithy
The children start to cry
I hold my breath and look with hope
Through the window to the sky
A shadow falls in the door
The children scream with fright
Bury their faces in the bed clothes
"Look, it's alright"
With a look and a happy yell
They clamber off the bed
Our boy looked awed at the bloodied sword
"We thought you might be dead"
Our girl hugged him round the waist
He patted her back, cleaned the sword
"Have a little faith" he replied
Our boy bounced away, now bored
"You killed it?" I asked in shock
That was a last resort
"If I didn't he would have come back"
Came the soft retort.
I shrugged with a sigh
Wave the children away
The threat has passed
Now to get on with our day
Many years now have passed
Since I left my home
And it seems that all I've done
Is just roam and roam
In this little caravan
Now with my family
From place to place we've gone
Just them and me
Rarely comes a time
When I look upon
What has happened in my life
Where I've been and gone
Sometimes I do wonder though
What would've happened if I stayed?
Would I've had the life expected?
Or would I've been slayed?
I'm aware those questions are
Useless to me now
I was lucky in the tribe
Me, the elders did allow
My partner is still around,
Our son has now passed on
Our daughter still lives with us
With her two girls and son
The old crone who became family
Is also gone for now
But she passed through old age,
Our son through a Sword Vow
I feel use and age seep into me
I’ve seen so much in my years
Wonders that come once or twice
And my deepest personal fears
I hear my partner calling to me
From the smithy, I think
He still comes up with ones
That’ll make me stop and blink
Now it feels that my years
May be coming to an end
Throughout that time
I've gone and made many a friend
My partner is part of my soul
My girl and hers are my pride
I'm sure that they will carry on
Long after I’ve died.
My daughter’s children laugh and play
They decorate the tree
I laugh with them I feel content
And I'm feeling free
My daughter smiles at their antics
Playfully shaking her head
Giving me a knowing look-
They'll be late to bed
Outside it's snowing, it's all white,
We're still north of home
We have been here for so long,
Our love for it has grown
My years now gather to a close
My time here is down to days
I quietly slip from this world,
Everything seemingly in a haze
Now they gather round my grave
Repeating my every word
Telling every story
Of mine they'd ever heard
My life was long of that I’m sure
And I lived it well
Once I'd come into the tribe
And escaped that village hell
Now the flames reach to the sky
Goodbyes are said by my friends
My funeral pyre burns brightly
And it's here my story ends.
Not to be copied or redistributed without my written permission.
Enjoy!
© Rebecca M Atkins
22/10/09
As The Journeys Multiply
Embraced within the darkness
I crept across the moor
Having made each footstep
A hundred times or more
This was the last time in which my feet
Would step upon this ground
I’d make my way away from them
I can never by them be found
The night was cold the fog was thick
And I just had to smile
Dancing to my own beat
For just a little while
So as I fled across the plain
Leaving behind my life
I knew where I could hide myself
From this stupid strife
And so I found the wandering tribe
On the moonlit forest floor
Trying my very hardest
To forget the Faery Lore
See, in my village,
The Faery Lore was a threat
It was a way to keep everyone
Under control, I bet…
An elder came to me and said
"Smoke should have been your end
But you grasped your fate
And made it to your own will bend
The hunters are still after you
Of this, you can be sure
For you wore your footsteps
Into a path upon the moor"
Stricken now I looked to him
Horror in my eyes
I told him of the accusations
Of my neighbours lies
He said to me he understood
For I was not the first
Many had fallen victim
To the bloodsheds thirst.
The days became a blur as
With the tribe I stayed
Losing all I’d left behind
Was the price I paid
The forest then became my home
As its ways I learned
I knew that I’d escaped the fate
Of a witch who was to be burned
I learnt the ways of pagan folk
How to live in harmony
With the trees and flowers
Bird, butterfly and bee
But I felt apart from them
Like I was out of place
Changing my habits of living
Going the slower pace
At first it seemed too hard to grasp
But it started to make sense
Like I was trapped in a garden
But I made it over the fence
So women taught me the woman’s role,
And my life began anew
The way they lived it was so simple
In all the tasks they would do
I'd worked my way into their way
I got into their lives
Turns out I had caught the eye
Of the maker of the knives
The way to court was different now
As it was simple too
No pomp, bluster, gifts, grand talk
Not so many things to do
Instead, we talked, we listened, laughed
Staying out till well past dark
The only permission needed was mine
T'was free of religious mark
And one cold day, next winter on
Our lives became entwined
We started a new journey then
One of each others kind
Things moved so fast, they moved so slow,
They changed with changes pace
I quickly learnt to not resist
To move with accepting grace
My partner built a caravan,
A house on wheels, he said
"We have to travel sometime soon
My mind it feels so dead."
Change is good, I replied
"For it means you're moving forward"
And who knows where this may take us
Past hill, lake and fjord
And it was not so long after that
That we began our journey of travel
And it was here that I wondered
Could the mysteries of the world I unravel?
It was so quickly that my desires faded at the scenery untamed
As I felt I’d burst with awe
I thought I’d seen all of natures wonders,
But around each corner was always revealed one more
Endless gently sloping hills,
Covered in green that seemed to wave
Mountains that seemed to loom overhead,
And there was always more I’d crave
And more I got, in many ways
While we were scoping out the land
First a boy and then a girl,
Hard at first, 'til I got used to the demand.
Horse to the front
Partner to the side
Children sleeping in the back
On this current ride
We've seen nearly everything
That lies on this land
Soon time to move on
Give in to wanderers’ demand
Up north we’ll head
Where the wind is cold
The land unforgiving
But it’s power old
And so we turned our attention now
To where the water met the land
The stormy blue exciting me
As I walked to it over drear yellow sand
It was a few months journey, they said,
To the land of Lakes and Ice
It was one that was easy enough,
If you could put up with all the mice
We knew that it was where to be
And if this was the only way
Then so be it, we'd take it
The voyage would start the next day
And so we sailed,
The air becoming colder
I never thought that I could feel
A land that was older
Then the land became visible
Barely so, through the snow
When we were close enough
Into the longboats to row
My surprise was evident
As we stepped on frozen shore
It has beauty of the likes
I've never seen before
Forward we went through snow and forest
Using every caution known
Then a hooded figure approached us
She was an old crone
"You needn't worry." She cackled,
As the children looked concerned
My partner looking worried
As my stomach churned
"Look around, can you feel?"
"There's power in this land."
She looked annoyed as back we stepped
She reached out for my hand
"Feel it, child, Feel it deep."
"For it comes from where we stand."
"The power you feel in me runs deep."
"It flows through out the land."
For many days and nights we stayed
Her house became our home
We shared with her the things
We'd learnt while on the roam
And in turn we did our learning
Of folklore, of truths of the North
We learnt of dragons, of the old power,
Of the warriors striding forth
Falling in to memories old
Of the place of whence I’d came
Before the tribe I was a villager
Caught in a deadly game
The tribe had let me make them home
And within their strength I grew
I learnt of things like magick power
And so my real knowledge began to accrue
I met my mate, we'd continued life
And we began to roam
Our horse and caravan was all we had
It became our home
And here we are so far from that,
Not feeling out of place
The way of life so different
But enjoying the new space
Back I came to reality
Hearing the cracking of ice
Very closely to the house
I hear a wolf howl twice
I slowly smile, things are fine
Everyone's asleep
Time for me to be a-bed
And fall into the deep
A yell of shock wakes me up
My partner is wide eyed
I look to him, follow his gaze
And then I nearly die
For in the room,
Standing bold without a care
Large and brown,
Paying us no heed - a bear.
We had been warned
That bears pose a threat
And now to keep calm
And keep it from upset
I close my eyes,
And slowly take a breath
Feeling deeply
Coming face to face with death
My partner rolls out of the bed,
And my eyes I keep them shut
I do not care for methods
Of getting this bear out of our hut
I hear the children's quiet whispers
I sit up and motion them to me
"What will happen mum?" one asks
I hope my fear they do not see
"He'll be fine, don't you fear"
I said in words which held no hope
But in truth I knew the future -
I don't know how I’d cope
I jump with a start
And the children scream
There's a crash in smithy
I wonder if it's a dream
A few crashes follow a roar
Mingled with a shout
Metal rings clear in the air
And now I start to doubt
All falls quiet in the smithy
The children start to cry
I hold my breath and look with hope
Through the window to the sky
A shadow falls in the door
The children scream with fright
Bury their faces in the bed clothes
"Look, it's alright"
With a look and a happy yell
They clamber off the bed
Our boy looked awed at the bloodied sword
"We thought you might be dead"
Our girl hugged him round the waist
He patted her back, cleaned the sword
"Have a little faith" he replied
Our boy bounced away, now bored
"You killed it?" I asked in shock
That was a last resort
"If I didn't he would have come back"
Came the soft retort.
I shrugged with a sigh
Wave the children away
The threat has passed
Now to get on with our day
Many years now have passed
Since I left my home
And it seems that all I've done
Is just roam and roam
In this little caravan
Now with my family
From place to place we've gone
Just them and me
Rarely comes a time
When I look upon
What has happened in my life
Where I've been and gone
Sometimes I do wonder though
What would've happened if I stayed?
Would I've had the life expected?
Or would I've been slayed?
I'm aware those questions are
Useless to me now
I was lucky in the tribe
Me, the elders did allow
My partner is still around,
Our son has now passed on
Our daughter still lives with us
With her two girls and son
The old crone who became family
Is also gone for now
But she passed through old age,
Our son through a Sword Vow
I feel use and age seep into me
I’ve seen so much in my years
Wonders that come once or twice
And my deepest personal fears
I hear my partner calling to me
From the smithy, I think
He still comes up with ones
That’ll make me stop and blink
Now it feels that my years
May be coming to an end
Throughout that time
I've gone and made many a friend
My partner is part of my soul
My girl and hers are my pride
I'm sure that they will carry on
Long after I’ve died.
My daughter’s children laugh and play
They decorate the tree
I laugh with them I feel content
And I'm feeling free
My daughter smiles at their antics
Playfully shaking her head
Giving me a knowing look-
They'll be late to bed
Outside it's snowing, it's all white,
We're still north of home
We have been here for so long,
Our love for it has grown
My years now gather to a close
My time here is down to days
I quietly slip from this world,
Everything seemingly in a haze
Now they gather round my grave
Repeating my every word
Telling every story
Of mine they'd ever heard
My life was long of that I’m sure
And I lived it well
Once I'd come into the tribe
And escaped that village hell
Now the flames reach to the sky
Goodbyes are said by my friends
My funeral pyre burns brightly
And it's here my story ends.
Not to be copied or redistributed without my written permission.
