branches up, roots down: 5th annual Cyberspace Poetry Slam for Brigid.
In honor of Groundhog’s Day, I present my entry! *Thanks to the WildHunt for turning me on to this CyberSlam*
I know why the cop eats doughnuts
I saw Him sullen,
Take a break the other day.
Why watch? Why wonder?
I don’t know
To see him robe in blue, to seal the warmth
Of that life, trembling inside
To see Force wrapped in thermal layers
Of rich, ice blue.
I saw Him, sullen,
Sit back for a jaunt in the breakfast world
Curiosity streamed from my corner, towards
The glimmer
Of law on his chest
And the vapors from his drink that dimmed it
I watched him sip his elixir with all the love
You would like to see your car engine give to its gas
Seeping its delightfully down his motor,
Huggint that Styrofoam coffee like a teddy bear
His eyes always fill with something-
The weight of the force
Makes even the air look saggy
I saw him, sullen one morning
Holding his back to the bagel café wall-
(like a good soldier would)
With that brash ring around his belly-
(a girth that brings humility to all)
Tools wrought for readiness
A diaper for a steel-eyed baby,
the steel-eyed baby that plays with tragedies
so we won’t have to.
I saw him, sullen, gaze th rough gates in his bagel,
I saw him, sullen, suck through to his last drop of strength
And the womyn in his line-
Womyn who warm wombs within those blues,
Jangling their guns and their ovaries together
Weak and civilian, I can smell the blood on the streets
Weak and civilian, I pierce through your horror
Fear of you will fall away,
Like your blues and black lethers do,
At night, at home
When you become real again.
copyright Valerie Freseman, circa 1992
SONG TO BRGID- DECEMBER, 2008
Bright red is your flame on a cold winter’s morning,
We welcome your touch at the Spring’s early dawning,
Come Brigit, bright maiden, awaken the land,
Come Brigit, bright maiden, be welcome this day.
The craftsman you guide him, his hands you are shaping,
You teach us the skills and the beauty of making.
Come Brigit, bright maker awaken our hands,
Come Brigit, bright maiden, be welcome this day.
You take all our pain and our sickness with gladness,
Your flame it can burn all the dark and the sadness,
Come Brigit, bright healer, awaken our hearts,
Come Brigit, bright maiden be welcome this day.
You birth with your voice all the songs of the nations,
The glimmer of poetry, the Jewel of Creation,
Come Brigit, bright Bard, awaken our soul,
Come Brigit bright maiden, be welcome this day.
We are under her keeping, each day and each night,
We are under the shielding of the Midwife of Light,
Oh Brigit, bright maiden, rekindle the flame,
Oh Brigit, bright Goddess be with us, today.