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Category: Mythology

Grove of Tranquil Paths

Filed under: Love, Mythology — 40 Comments

November 3, 2011

(from the myth of the God Freyr and Goddess Gerðr)

Freyr seated on the throne of Odin 1908 Frederic Lawrence

One night is long enough ǁ yet longer still are two;
     how then shall I bear the agony of three?
Months have merrily passed ǁ quick flashes over
     faster than half this desiring eve.*

Freyr, full of longing, laments
     worlds made brighter by Gerðr
seemingly far from his reach
     this cæsura separates the lovers

Envisioning divine coupling
     of earth and sky bestow
peace and pleasure flowing
     from union’s blessed purpose

He lives now into his destiny
     to bathe in beauty’s light
he sets foot upon the path to Barri
     nine nights hence embracing bliss

*from the Poetic Edda; the poem Skírnismál

for the dVerse Poet’s Form for All on love poetry (sorry I couldn’t manage a Somon tanka today but other talented poets did) here: http://dversepoets.com/2011/11/03/formforall-manyoshu-poetry-hosted-today-by-jane-kohut-bartels-lady-nyo/

Tags: poetry

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Mutual Response

Filed under: Art, Mythology, Philosophy, Tribute — 66 Comments

October 24, 2011

for the artists Olly & Suzi (& the animals)

Mutual Response (click to hear the poem read – sorry for the gravel in my voice, I’ve just regained it after illness)

First there was a line
grace like the breeze
broken and jagged as the earth
smeared with the essential,
clay tainted with sweat

Hand over hand artistic collaborators
paws and hooves animals imprint
bite, scratch, slither a chaotic contribution
intense encounters in the wilds
artists alongside predators in situ
drawn in charcoal, pigment, sepia,
mud, berries, sap, dye, ochre,
sunder ink, rock ash, and blood

Borneo, Nepal, Alaska, the Galapagos
geography defined by one species
charting the dividing lines
bounded territories a Great Escarpment
bleak prophesy portends tales of
timber wolves and cheetahs on the hunt
sketching bloody prints trailing Namib sands
hostile places leading to an inner seeing

Transfixed by snow swept plateaus
Katmai grizzly bears, Mkomazi blue lions
watercolor turtles swim under painted leviathans
enrapturing Cousteau’s angels
heart of darkness beats in black tiger while
Champa Kali charges down a dusty path
and orcas move through the great silence

Adrenaline’s anaconda twisting around
the shark cage of inspiration we see now
with eyes wide to awe and terror
melt water becomes a roaring stream
impregnating the romance of the landscape
fear’s thunder rumbling through impenetrable forests
ice crystals form within the vigil of deepest knowing
dead fox, oryx skull, and scarlet raven calling
spirit pounds in the chambers of conch shells

the story is the wind
it comes from a far off place
and we feel it
as outlaws demarcate
these lines of extinction

Inner Animal (for Olly & Suzi) 2007 Mixed Media on Paper Anna Montgomery

To find out more about the collaborative artists Olly & Suzi and see their artwork go to http://www.ollysuzi.com/. They have a book out about their work called Artic Desert Ocean Jungle. This poem owes a debt to Joseph Conrad, ‘An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest.’ from Heart of Darkness & to a San Bushman ‘The story is like the wind, it comes from a far off place, and we feel it.’

Posted for the amazing poetry community dVerse Poets Pub for Open Link Night http://dversepoets.com/2011/10/25/openlinknight-week-15/ come join us!

Tags: poetry

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