Rowan Woman
The eagle, demon-torn, crashed to earth.
Its head buried into soil,
beak rasped through stone,
eyes and brain rooted to a tree-form.
Above ground, wood-bones branched
feather-leaved. Blood became berries
seeded with life. So, to Greeks,
the rowan was born.
Vikings went the other way: took wood
and shaped a spine, legs, arms, head,
filled out flesh with berries,
adorned the skull with leaves.
There she was, the girl. Here I am,
the woman, finally understanding why
I need to be rooted, yet always felt
I fell from the sky.
Mandy
Haggith is a Scottish poet, novelist, and environmental activist from
Northumberland. Since 1999 she has lived on a coastal wooded croft in Assynt.
Her environmental stewardship has included advising for a Scottish Member of
Parliament and working for Greenpeace, WWF, Fern and Taiga Rescue Network. She
presently lectures on Literature and Creative Writing at the University of the
Highlands and Islands.
No comments:
Post a Comment