Poems that mean something to you
I will cast a circle
and only those with eyes to see me
will be invited in
I will take all the parts of myself
which have been deemed to be unloveable
my sensitivity
my voice
my rage
my grief
my unworthiness
my too-muchness
my not-enoughness
my loneliness
I will lay an altar
decorated with rose petals and dried sage
I will spread it with the finest Indian silk of midnight blue
and lay upon it stones of raw malachite and lapis, lace agate and tiger’s eye
and wooden bowls filled with sea salt, bark of cedar, beeswax,
storm water, a red ribbon, dust,
oil of mugwort, a lock of my own hair,
a rabbit’s skull and the wing of a hummingbird moth,
the golden bells which were gifted to me by the old woman on the mountain
and the small pebble which I collected from the seashore at sunrise
on the midwinter solstice
In the centre of my altar
I will place an empty bowl
deep enough to hold
all of the things
which were taken from me
and all of the shame
which I was expected to carry
I will light a fire
and dance around the flames
and the earth will be so delighted
to feel my footsteps
that my dancing will turn
lead into goose down
and poison ivy into sweet water
And when I have finished reclaiming myself
and when the last of the flames have died right down
I will pour honey and dark elderberry wine over the ashes
and I will cleanse myself with smoke and salt water
and I will watch as hyssop and wild thyme and poppies sprout
from the embers.
~ Caroline Mellor
www.carolinemellorwriter.com
Art by Mary Feywood
www.maryfeywood.nl
