TheElegantShadow

“I looked onwards at the battle before me Two brothers locked in a fell war One was beheaded The other stood victorious And their mother between them so adored She sang her praise And gave to the standing A crown upon their new lord.” Loctanis, The Immortal Bard – Battle at the Red Ford Running water, the grey, clouded sky, mud smeared boots and the sound of trudging horses. This is what I found myself before as I stood between them, unseen. They raised their blades and raced towards the other, hungry for blood. I watched in awe and horror at the battle before me, and silently said a prayer for those that had fallen. But ho

In a small village that was tucked away far from the mainland’s firm grasp lived a young woman with hair as brown as oak, eyes as blue as the sky above, and skin as fair as a dove’s feathers.  She resided within a house with her family that was neither too large nor too small, neither in wealth nor poverty, but her house was filled with family and cheer always. However, for our young girl, little did she know how on this day her life would change. “Mother!” A girl yelled as she ran into the kitchen. “Mother, you called me?” “Yes, my little Lesta.” A middle aged woman said as she smiled do

I stand here on the edge The wind whispers a taunting laugh Cold and distant like my soul Turbulent like a storm Roaring from within The demon rages from within me Bending and breaking And demolishing all before it Death is at hand Grasping my neck Holding me still And breaking my legs I almost evaporate In his acid touch Burning away my face My hopes and dreams My life and my heart I stand at the edge about to fall Yet you gripped my wrists When I had almost let go And fell further And further still Into the dark The cliff dissolves Into ash and rocks Yet I still stay here floating Your hand grasping onto mine An angel has grabbed me And i

Water churning Beneath the cauldron a-bubble A pyre burning To celebrate this festival In her name They chanted so proud Before her flame They took a sacred vow To tend to the fire That burns away For others it will sire On this special day Beltane, The Fire Festival A day of renewal When the land is of estival And the dark vanishes from Yule They dance through the fire And make their bread and ale Their hopes and dreams aspire And all becomes well “In thy home I dwell” “And thy hearth I light” “Welcome and hail” “And share in my delight.” They sing and they dance Throughout the day and night B

Long, long ago, in a time forgotten, tales were told of the four Seasons and how they corresponded and interlinked into our lives, and two entities, of whom govern them: Spring, Our Time of Birth, where the flowers start to peek forth from the once cold and desolate ground, the animals retire from their hibernation and once again roam the land, and the forest’s children start to shed their dreary, winter decay. Summer, Our Time of Life, when the sun shines most brightly, sending forth rays of light to enchant and enrich the fertile land, the crops are seeded and await their harvest, and the air becomes filled with a slight warm, yet com

Broken glass falls at my feet The mirror has broken And so has the mystique The edges are jagged And dig in quite deep The shattered reflection beneath Are the sins that I’ve reaped Yet behind the frame where the glass once stood Is a world, wide opened And filled with both bad and good Hands outstretched before me Waiting for me to take grasp Something that I once could not see But I have at last I breathe a heavy sigh One of content For I’ve broken my lies And found myself again

Puck in the night When you do your good deeds Churning the butter and planting the seeds Sowing the holes in our tethered fabrics And cleaning the house and ridding the havoc Yet all you ask in return, a price so small A bit of appreciation, a reward for your job Some cream and some bread, a welcomed pay Keep you well fed and you’re obliged to stay Yet nothing in this world is ever so dear For when you are crossed, this Boggart you’ll fear He’ll throw the dishes and bring forth disease The animals will go sterile and be infested with fleas Until you‘ve righted your wrong and properly appeased Soothe his wrath and brin

Shadowed faces upon me when I wake Laughing, hissing, and screaming as I shake They come for me in the dead of night Hoping for a meal they’ll steal with a fright Yet as I gain my senses, and as I lay paralyzed Their presence I feel and try to analyze The room, my surroundings all shaded in black As they plan for their feast, and gather their claque My hand, my leg, and my head, they all twitch I calm myself and prepare for the switch I gather my strength as they sit on my chest Choking and squeezing, jumping and coiling Waiting for me to give into unrest Yet with one swipe of my hand the shadows do fade Back out the window until the ne

“My daughter! My daughter! To where has she gone? She played in the water And danced in the sun Here on this land, I last saw her today ‘Til a strange man came by And snatched her away He rode on a dun, ash grey and with black mane And my girl in his arms, screaming my name I searched all the creeks, the streams and mountain tops ‘Til I came by a Nereid whom knew what I sought Arethusa ‘twas her name, a daughter of Nereus She told me of the man and his plan so nefarious To take my daughter to his archaic land And make her his queen, and take her by hand My rage was invoked, and my ire had raised And so the land soon

I awoke in an eerie, pitched field The sky was tinted in grey Red roses consumed the ground and hills Like fire come to play Their fragrance was sweet, and yet bitter as well An aroma that ravaged my senses With bloodlust and bale I picked myself up from my place on the ground I looked at my surroundings And I was shocked to have found The far, the vast, and the immoderate miles ahead The embrace of the sky upon the lofty mounds And the stretch of the roses that grew in beds In my stunned awe, I heard a sound go by I spun myself in circles looking for the source It was the caw of a raven that flew just out of sight And with no