Standing stones of Callanish, Isle of Lewis, Scotland
The Ancient One huddles
At the edge of the circle
Casting his eyes to the celestial spheres
Whirling in the immensity of the heavens
The Pleiades ascend the Eastern arch
The tears and sorrows
Of the millennium
Follow them
The Great Stones of Calanais
Rise strong and resilient
Sentinels of silence
Awaiting the lunar standstill
Upon the hoarfrost
Fathers prostrate themselves
To the sound of a mother’s keening
A pair of wrens nestles nearby
Sacrifices and prayers offered
For the return of the Sun
Snatched by the wail of ghostly winds
That moan through the monoliths
The old crone etches timeless spirals into barren earth
Long fingernails rhythmically scraping
Maidens clutch their cloaks ’round their bellies
Weeping for the unborn and unconceived
A child-boy raises his face skyward
Eyes shining in the Pleiades’ embrace
Unheeding the bitter cold and gathering storm
A smile playing upon his lips
The Toothless One cackles
Delight in the boy’s understanding
His chilling laughter shoots
Arrows of ice from his mouth
LiNdA
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