A Lammas Charm

The first of August is Loaf-Mass in the old Catholic pre-Reformation world, which was corrupted to Lammas. It is also the time of the first harvest (not to be confused with the Autumn harvest) and a time of fertility. With some nods to D.H. Lawrence, here is a poem for Lammas.

A Lammas Charm

Now comes the harvest of the wheat
Come take the loaf, the bread of life
Break the bread, oh, come and eat
Come feast together, ending strife

Come ancestors, bone of our bone
Past and present, grind the corn
Take the grain, and grind with stone
Ripe seeds in earth, make us reborn

Plough the land with furrows deep
And hold in hand the goodly soil
This the charm, inside this keep
May horns of plenty come from toil

Lammas day, the goddess comes
And magic trickles through in crumbs