Poems from Earth Pathways Diary 2020

settle in

shed summer skins and add them to the cobwebs that cocoon your stone walls.

let autumn leaves preside over thatching,

laying crimsons and golds against its cheek,

keeping the warmth in,

the cold out.

gather colours from the ground and trees and sky for soon there will be none,

so lost will the world be in monochromes and frozen silhouettes.

decorate your hearth with berries and blood and bright fingers of leaves

set to nourish you in faded winter days.

when the land is stiller,

have a belly feast

eye joy

soul fire

in store.

watch the ash from the fire

settle like snow

before the real winter comes,

a chimney-scattered prayer of blessing,

protecting hearth and stone.

send woodsmoke to cleanse and heal your dwelling’s bones,

wrap dripping light,

weave sunset, sunrise

around limb and skin.

take the moments of summer and the wheeling flight of crows,

lay them at your fireside,

whisper secrets into the flames,

paint the ashes onto everything you ever see.

may the splashes and spills of life

be held, immovable and sacred in your walls

and in your flesh

and fill your home on winter nights

when everything outside

is brittle

faded

grey.

tuck those colours in,

nestle amongst them,

fill your belly with sunlight,

for soon wild winds will roar and tumble

and churn it all,

and into their chaos

we can step from our door and bellow

thank you

and retreat once more.