Old Man Winter©Belisarius
The Winter Elf
(a free verse)
If I could hear the music of the Arctic Owl
The Tundra ghost that sings in nature's key
Of birth, death, joy, struggle, pleasure, pain...
Mother's sacred voice, body, and spirit
Incarnate in ferocious, feathery form
Would tears wash away the blindness?
If, with just one glimpse through fierce yellow eyes
I could feel the power of Skadi's hunting grounds,
And sense the beauty of her crystalline terrain,
The mystery of her frozen austerity,
As she brandishes the silver sword of survival
Would I shirk behind my tender, mortal shield?
Or spring into lively motion, as the hare
Encountering the face of the great grey beast,
That chases the setting sun into the unknown,
Or, stalks the icy nights searching for easier prey,
Welcoming the unknowning, uprepared, or uninvited...
Would my heart beat to the rhythms of the shimmering night sky?
If I could share a draught with the robust Winter Elf,
Drink in the wonder and magic of his steely wisdom,
Learn from the master of the season of the winds,
Jokul Frosti, the great old man, the new beginning...
The co-protector of the cylces of this orb
Could I breathe the chilling air of absolute reality?
Winter warrior! Rise to the challenge!
Then I might know the ebb and flow of the tides,
The stare of the moon. The elementals.
Life's greatest opportunity.
Liberation from fear. Freya's harmony.
Complete.
***
Theo J. van Joolen©2011
***
See more snow sculptures by Belisarius
The Tundra ghost that sings in nature's key
Of birth, death, joy, struggle, pleasure, pain...
Mother's sacred voice, body, and spirit
Incarnate in ferocious, feathery form
Would tears wash away the blindness?
If, with just one glimpse through fierce yellow eyes
I could feel the power of Skadi's hunting grounds,
And sense the beauty of her crystalline terrain,
The mystery of her frozen austerity,
As she brandishes the silver sword of survival
Would I shirk behind my tender, mortal shield?
Or spring into lively motion, as the hare
Encountering the face of the great grey beast,
That chases the setting sun into the unknown,
Or, stalks the icy nights searching for easier prey,
Welcoming the unknowning, uprepared, or uninvited...
Would my heart beat to the rhythms of the shimmering night sky?
If I could share a draught with the robust Winter Elf,
Drink in the wonder and magic of his steely wisdom,
Learn from the master of the season of the winds,
Jokul Frosti, the great old man, the new beginning...
The co-protector of the cylces of this orb
Could I breathe the chilling air of absolute reality?
Winter warrior! Rise to the challenge!
Then I might know the ebb and flow of the tides,
The stare of the moon. The elementals.
Life's greatest opportunity.
Liberation from fear. Freya's harmony.
Complete.
***
Theo J. van Joolen©2011
***
See more snow sculptures by Belisarius
"The Wolves Pursuing Sol and Mani" (1909) by J. C. Dollman.
See Also...
Winter Elf (the Villanelle)
Winter Elf (the Sonnet)
The Winter Elf (a free verse)
To Dream the Winter Elf (a Sestina)
©Anne Stokes