Beltane Visions

I wanted to capture something of the Gaelic Beltane, but also with the theme of fire, have a glance at the way the sorry state of our poor world now.

Beltane Visions

We gather in a circle for time of fire:
This is the time for renewed desire;
In the purifying smoke, the in between,
Cattle and farmers are made clean;
Romans in the South don’t understand,
The power of Beltane to enrich the land;
We Gaels and Picts have this ancient rite,
When our Beltane fire is set alight;
Now our shaman looks into the flame,
Strange portents that are hard to name:
City gleaming turned to rubble and dust,
Falling metal strikes, and does combust;
The trees burned in heat, the wildfire,
As if the ending of our beloved shire;
These but shadows, that may not come,
For we may allay them in our beating drum:
The chanting of the year, where fairy folk,
Come and bless us, through the smoke;
Beltane Blessings keep us safe, bring light,
Over hill and dale, free from the wight,
That shadows depart for now at least,
While we enjoy the Beltane feast.