Honor

Honor the ancestors.

They are the golden honey
that streams through this moment.

Honor the dead and the unborn,

for none are dead, none are unborn.

Sacred is the womb, 

sacred is the grave.

I sing to you, Mother.

As a wild iris bending 

toward dawn,

you bend toward the dark.

I sing to you, Father.

Let your withered beams return

to the hollow seed.

Each step I take on earth

makes this a sacred day,
a sacred day.

The soles of my feet
pay obeisance to you
who traveled before me.

Yet you leave no trail.

Each footprint a thistle furrow,

a bowl of chanterelles and raindrops,

no room for a Way.

That is why I wend off-trail

entangling the seasons

of Samhain and Imbolc.

I touch the moon through 

my own eyes, my own breath.

And I feel you, grandfather,  

walking in my footsteps.



Aboriginal art by Peter Mulchahy

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