Unlike flower essence, which becomes roses or lilies,
Unlike animal essence that's born into birds and beasts
To bring within humanity love, justice, trust, and peace
The divine takes the human form, and with it co-exists
Gods and goddesses, Hinduism holds, took the form of fish.
Hummingbirds, alligators, tortoises, snakes, stags, and boars
Into eagles, horses, peacocks, doves, vultures, and Ibis
The Greek deities took forms and fulfilled their earthly chores.
Impossibilities for humans are made possible.
Weak flesh and strong spirit amalgamate into a whole.
The eternal, intangible becomes accessible.
Each physical particle turns into a psychic soul.
Omnipresence, like flowers and aroma, becomes one.
All that is celestial, like the rain, descends on the earth.
With the Holy Ghost, herein dwell. the Father and the Son.
Each being, in the Holy Trinity, gains their new birth.
Through the eyes of an eagle
I view this land.
Forty shades of green
from soft Irish rain
that removes the stain
of numerous battles.
I soar over Sliabh League
in Dun na nGall then
swoop above Glenveigh
where the sons of Tuan
king of the stags
now roam free.
I circle ancient forts
where Gaelic kings
were crowned.
No longer found in a land
decimated by retreating foes
then long enslaved by England.
Still the spirit of Eire is strong.
Drinking poteen until dawn
we celebrate the harvest
with dance and song at Samhain
along with the Tuatha De Danann.
Extolling the mighty Fionn Mac Cumhail.
Surviving all those who were cruel,
famine, seafaring foes and British rule.
Irish laughter rings loud.
As a people we are proud.
One day soon our green land
will be reclaimed
to be a nation once again.
intense . . . to begin with, belayed by hours
hewn soliloquy through obverse platitudes
benign, betrayal among friends, in grounds
of open mouths, a kraken of tongues regale
upon which bar the cocktails finally arrived
I bargained with God please don't send me back,
unless I can have green eyes like my cat..
I also requested brown stripes on my back.
Earth tones blend in, a well-known fact.
My final petition was to have four legs.
It's much more efficient when chasing stags.
If I must return for one final tour.
Don't make me a human.
I won't endure.
Was she a vision or the foretold prophecy from Norse shamanic lore?
No one questioned her as she transmogrified into a warrior in the great hall.
The king was cowed. “Are you Yggdrasil, Goddess of Life?” He asked.
Was she the keeper of the nine worlds? The rest of us looked on, awed.
She brought her entourage, a dragon, eagle, and four stags.
They appeared as she had, in front of the king, in the middle of court.
There were audible gasps. Was she Old North, coming to fetch the king?
We Germanic people began to pray, as we had never prayed before.
Edwin Landseer
much admired stags&deer
Thus their virtues of courage&pride
in plein-air sketches he never did hide
"Precepts of the Aegis-Holder"
no gorgons here
but 3 of one, yes?
shields raise
back the dead
to life
and phoenix
from the ashes
spreads its burning wings
feathers of blue
now gold, tra-la notes,
messages burning
rising upwards, it sings
and the hounds noble
stand their ground
under tree of life
the wisdom drops from leaves
like tears, black pearls
in for a penny,
in for a pound
what say you?
to the manor born?, or
light of life?, by now
it does not matter
for all is found, surely,
in each
the other
(LadyLabyrinth / 2022)
mlb,klb, llb
"A chattering crow lives out nine generations of aged men,
but a stag's life is four time a crow's,
and a raven's life makes three stags old,
while the phoenix outlives nine ravens,
but we, the rich-haired Nymphs
daughters of Zeus the aegis-holder,
outlive ten phoenixes"
The Aegis-Holder.
Burton.
Phoenix.
3.
Lux Vitae.
Dare challenge me?
Then be my guest …
The stags enter into a jousting quest,
No time now for antlers to rest,
The challenger locks his horny crest,
With focused stare and forceful zest,
A testosterone and power fest,
Nature at its Darwinian best.
Into the gene-pool
He wished to invest,
Can he suceed,
Survive this test?
Bluebells curtsy mildew pasture
Vibrant, submissive, indigo chimes
Blooms convene, witnessing daybreak
Vain, boastful, early spring unveils,
English bulbs amidst sweet woodland scent
Floral rivers flourishing below
The matured red stags weary hooves,
Strength, stamina, amongst delicate, petite
Burnt auburn fur, greets azure petal streams -
Beneath April's succulent trees
Alleged anthrax-laden alligator arrives in afternoon
Beyond bright baboon baby bestows brilliance
Chaste chimpanzees charge chagrined cheetahs
Doped donkeys deliberate director’s dictate
Elongated eel exasperate enormous elephants
Fruit flies flit and flutter among fruity flowers
Gravely gross gibbons gripe greedily
Hyenas and hippos are hungrily huffing
Igneous information informs iconic islanders
Jubilant jellyfish jealous juxtapositions
Kipling’ s kangaroos kill kindler’s keepsakes
Lively llamas leaping and loving
Many mammals merrily marauding
Nefarious Neverland needing new numbers
Often outsiders oversee overgrown owls
Persnickety porcupines parading in pairs
Quintessential quails quickly quell Quakers
Respite reveals rushing rip-roaring rhinos
Stolen stags slide south showing secrecy
Tiptoe through trails, tricking tigers
Understanding unicorns utilize umbrellas
Very vexing victims verify variety of vixens
Well-meaning walrus whips whippersnapper’s will
‘Xacting ‘Xrays ‘Xplore ‘Xpansive ‘Xports
Yoga yielding yaks yelp at yellow yarn
Zealous zebra zips in zingy zoo.
Your eyes shine dazzles the stars
Your face's glow, blinds the moon
Your hairs fall perfectly straight
Your waist loses the stags
Your walk, it increases your fans
Girls, they follow your fashion
You are amazing in every way
I tell you, I tell you everyday
World laugh with your laughter
Your sadness makes the world sad
And my dear you are my whole world
Imran want to live just with your hold
And I heard again those voices,
Buoyed upon a murmuring wind,
And oyster-catchers with their
Distinctive, shrill-piping call;
The plaintive cries of floating
Curlews,
Carrying on that wind,
As spilt sunset
Settled over the ruby-red, wine-coloured
Moor.
Blazing purple heathers --
Distant bellows from rutting stags --
The whirling grouse...
And close by, opposite my quiet little
Door,
Seldom seen otters, whistling when
Calling their playful mates,
Splashed and sported in shallow runs
And shadowy pools:-
Opaque, amber waters, swathed
In brilliant starlight,
Reflecting intensity displayed overhead;
Night's rich velvet skies encrusted in
Sparkling jewels.
Yes, as darkness begins to fall,
With drowsy eyes half-shut...
Again, I see and hear it all.
For it is certain, I have now become
Familiar with what is truly meant...
To have to endure an ever waking
Discontent.
`Twas Christmas Eve and in the air a chill
Rudolph had to stand down cos he felt ill
Santa started to panic
So he sent for a medic
Who in error gave Rudolph a blue pill.
He soon perked up and was raring to go
Santa was pleased and shouted ho ho ho
But then a surprise
Between the stags thighs
Rudolphs man thing was beginning to grow.
Surprised Santa just looked on in dismay
As Rudolph managed to break from the sleigh
A deer park he went
Picked up some doe's scent
And with every doe had his wicked way.
Written 7th December 2020.
Christmas Limerick Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Alexis Y.
Antiques to ashes
Left with dusty faces
Love birds to broken hearts
Left in a thousand parts
Riches to rags
Left lonely like stags
Life still goes on
In cycles of seasons
Rainfall and snowfall
Reaching out to us on the floor
Our hard hearts softened by the torrent
From fragility we are hardened by the sun
Drop by drop a paddles starts to lift
Till it is a stream with a drift
Ray by ray our eyes overlook the pain
We are healed to live again
Why is it the intransigent
find the intransigent
to be pigheaded, willful,
inflexible and pertinacious?
Engaging, as it were,
in an endless “tug-o-war”
neither side allowing
for consideration of
the fallibility of the inflexibility
of calcified recalcitrance.
Stags, horns locked,
dying on an empty stage
bleach-white bones
rattling in an unfelt wind.
©7/14/2019
Intransigence Poetry Contest
John Hamilton sponsor
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