Shield Maiden
Though wounded and now lame
She survives to ride o’er
Despondent plains still laughing
Coughing blood
Picking bones and fairly
Cracking seeds and scavenging
From pools and dew pits smiling
She is weary
While old redundant hedgerows
Thorn thick and bleeding serve
To nourish and defend her proudly
The night approaches
Then when she sleeps
She sleeps a fitful sleep beneath
Her shield and pon crowded graves
Still heaving
The graves of those she loved
And those once slayed in
Woodland and on battlefields
Still blazing
Yet forced to wander cold
Tho free from
Longhouse abandoned chains
She rides calmly
A feral child as was yet ne’er
A feral bride shall ever be
The tarot card and rune stones
Both decree it
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Comments7
Oohh what's she up to there, battling on? She certainly 'gets out more' - like I should do! Did she 'get her coat' having 'over-stayed her welcome' somewhere, then go off on these adventures?!
She is not the kind of woman to be messed with... let's just say this.. she is not ya box o chocs and a bunch of flowers kinda gall ..... N
Do ya know her socially?!
of course...
She sounds like Boadicea - Or Boudicca. Though that sounds like 'Boo-ditcher'. But not like Bo-Diddley. My rambling is terrible! lol.
she is indeed much like Boudica Queen of the Iceni tribe
Did we meet her - both of us, around 60AD?! An olden day Margaret Thatcher on a horse?
she was certainly not one to mess with..
A dark and sad shape indeed is your feral maiden Neville - - loved the cold flow of this shivery piece -
- -a wraith of the tarot-card table so adeptly described makes a haunt of a read.
thank you Fay.... sometimes my imagination runs away and the pen takes over..... N
This piece intrigued me.
I was left a little uncertain about how the author felt about his creation or the image in his head?
It reminded me of baba yaga or such mythical wild woman ideas.
There is a calmness yet a dread.
An emptiness yet battlefield ablaze.
Perhaps an acceptance of fate?
Thank you sylviasearcher.. I like the way you read into words.. yes the unity of opposites has a certain allure, at least to me....
The unity of opposites has a certain allure?
But the opposites are not always as expected ...
Perhaps?
absolutely ... we call it ken zen ichinyo .. symbolized often as two men fighting on a bridge, a hand or fist and the word or character yame or stop .... a little complex perhaps but I never wrote the rules for zen... N
I never knew the rules for Zen.
I never understood many rules to be fair.
I wonder what the word for that is, and it's antonym?
now you got me thinking... I will have a think..
A right shudder of a read that stays with you - fine work Neville.
Always kind & always appreciated Michael, thank you sir.... N
A lady obviously not to upset.
Absolutely cheers N
Dark and powerful Neville I liked it Great write AGAIN!
I like that you like Andrew.. that means a lot to me my friend... thank you.. Neville
This is awesome, I love the use of language and metaphor! Good job 🙂
Goodness me, SerenWise, where did you just spring from.. Many thanks indeed for stopping by and considering this my latest scribble... tis much appreciated and true... All Good Things, Neville
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