The Calling

I hear her song in
accidental melodies that harmonize
with breath of wind through leaves and branches.
An invocation of form and pattern
that blends complexity
with elementary truth
and calls me into
that infinite space between
my protons and my neutrons.

How can I not follow her
down the rugged mountain
to the shore of Llyn Tegid?

Together we ride the spiraled wave of Awen,
faster and faster
chasing the seed,
shifting and sailing
from earth
to water
to air —
a greyhound pursuing a hare
an otter hunting a salmon
a hawk descending upon a wren
a black hen gulping a kernel of corn. . .

This poem is an ode to my beloved Ceridwen, mother of the ancient Welsh Bard Taliesin. She is both a comfort and a deep mystery to me and I hope to thrive in her ambivalence for the rest of my days.

May these words bring truth
and healing through open hands and hearts.
And then, let them flow back into our Mother Earth
for the love of all her beings.

Published in The Amethyst Review, July 4, 2024.

Art by Araminta Fogden: https://www.aramintafogden.com/product-page/horatio-hare-original-canvas

Opening music to voice recording: Sorrel by Wishbone Ash from their 1973 album Wishbone Four.

And here is a beautiful telling of Ceridwen’s story by writer and teacher Kris Hughes: