Written on Samhain*

I sit here atop their faery palace.
I am permitted, because they have taken to watching.
The new gods displaced no one:
They only stopped running and stood still,
Feet rooting into earth--
Long fingers clutching at leaf cover.


They stand curved and listening.
You won't see them till you
Lean against them,
Wind whispering in the leaves above your head.


The Lochness sleeps at the bottom of the bay,
Smiling in his dream.
Except on this night
Except for tonight


Look at the pebbles at your feet:
Old bits of driftwood and dragon tooth.
Some slate.
All tools to leave a note for them
That they will laugh over once the party is done.


Here where the grass grows—ramparts.
Here where cigarettes have been stubbed out: a watch tower.
Here where the marigold grows: a moat.
Your behind rests on a turret: a tiny telescope watching for ravens.


They know your schedule.
When the lights come on.
How the sprinklers work.
Why campus security will not climb these ramparts.
Especially this night.
Especially tonight.


They let the grass grow into the moat.
The draw bridge rotted and turned to soil.
A beer can crush lies where the levy would gather.
My ungainly foot stomps in a fairy circle.


But as the last leaves are lit by the setting sun,
Their faces hidden in flames laugh as they wait
For their night
For tonight.


For the campus security will not climb these ramparts,
And I have made an offering
Of a chocolate bar and my sorrows.
Speak the ancient chants and light no lamp--
Then you will see their glittering eyes and hear
The ancient harp being tuned, underneath you, near.


________________________________

Samhain- the ancient name for a tradition that is now translated in popular culture as Halloween. Pronounced "sow-in", it is honoured by those of the celtic tradition.