Poems from Earth Pathways Diary 2020
Amara George Parker
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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.