A  PALE WINTER’S SUN

A pale winter’s sun casts long shadows

Over stone walled fields of cairns and barrows

The air from my breath turns to mist so fine

I shiver, as if a freezing finger runs up my spine

Like an ice cold finger of an ancestor long dead

I feel their presence inside my head

The voices of many generations seem to shout 

Words in a language I can just make out

You do not belong here, oh mortal child 

For this is no ordinary place, so desolate and wild

Why do you disturb us? What do you seek ?

Choose your words carefully before you speak

There is danger here for mortals, be very afraid

Between our worlds, the veil is fragile and frayed 

Tread carefully, but do not show fear or dread

When you commune with the living dead.

In fading light, a movement catches my attention

Or is it just a figment of my imagination 

The faintest flicker in the corner of my eye

I can not be certain nor can I deny

As shadows flicker in and out of phase

Caught for a moment by my human gaze 

I try to make sense of what I see

As both worlds blend so intimately

Between swirling shades and shifting shadows

A vision of majestic forests and rolling meadows

Where the Faery host hunt again

In what is now a world claimed by men

In a far off time and space

In a different world a different place

A sacred place, where no human can go

A realm where only the gods can know

I shake my head and clear my mind

The long way home I have to find

I thank the gods for their guidance and care

For the gifts bestowed and secrets they did share

As darkness folds her cloak around me

I make my way very slowly and carefully

Back to my own world and the world of men

Someday I may return again..

C Denis Murphy 11 November 2020.