For years beyond counting, you and I
have crept from the trees and meadows,
and come spear-straight to the safety
and peace of the inner circle,
I from the East, you from the West.
Each time the crescent moon
has hooked the stars,
silver-sickled and scythe-sharp,
we have met and made love,
our limbs spoked and spare,
our hearts beating relentlessly, hotly,
and hard as a coppersmith’s hammer.
Such intensity has been in our eyes,
such intent in our minds,
that we have not seen the mists meld
and merge, nor the morning melt them.
At such moments we swore
that we morphed into a single stone
and dwelt a day in utter quiet and unseeing.
There are times when we are mayflies
who dance only for a day and, in our own way,
we laugh at the trick nature plays on us.
There are others when we are ageless stone-wraiths
that barely notice the fires of yellow Beltane.
There are our holy days, when we do not couple,
but run in a mockery of a race
round and round the circle of Great Gateways,
widdershins-spinning, shuttling, weaving,
warping, wefting in and out in heathen patterns
fraught with misunderstood meaning.
Do we blaspheme the place – who can say?
We know nothing but ourselves,
nor could we know more
if we searched the stars!
Our memory is as long as our last meeting,
and chains and freedom are alike to us,
as knowledge and ignorance.
Our parting comes
upon the moment of our greatest joy
when, shifting with the world’s spin
we slip and shiver into the shadows
the way we came together,
into unguessed places,
the homes, the sleep we do not remember,
I to the East, you to the West.
Author notes
photo credit: http://www.atareq.net/ufologia/doc/stonehenge.jpg
In a list
A contest entry
- Stonehenge by ea.
425 points, ended July 26, 2007, 7 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 47 of 47
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WOW, you captured the power I feel amongst the Stones and you can guess why I live here though I believe beautiful Scotland has some too, on Orkney (I think). I love the pic too, in moonlit frost both Stonehenge and Avebury look as if they are stood in water hence the belief one or other could be Avalon. I'll shut up and add this piece to my pagan list where it belongs.
Simply Awesome
Jem xxx
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I have done a few poems about our stone monuments - I'll send you the links.
Thank you for the kind comments.
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Thank you, I know I'll treasure those. xxx
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I remember the mesurement of the sun rising on the solstice was off 1 1/2 degrees. They were calculating planetary drift to determine the age of the site when it was precisely accurate. I don't remember the outcome. We are woefully underinformed on the ancient past.
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This is utterly amazing. I love the fast pace of the read, it leaves me breathless as I imagine those in the poem feel. Such perfect imagery - coppersmith's hammer especially, it dates and creates a visual - bravo! The whole write makes my pagan blood pound and sing and I want to dance around come the next solstice, whispering and singing and being caught in this moment!
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This is stunning! And all the more meaningful to me because I used to go to the Stone Henge festival every year on the Summer Solstice until Margaret Thatcher stopped it. The last festival was surrounded by tanks!
But yes you've captured the magical mystery of the stones in this delightful poem. I love your unique style.
Peace Georgia
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Thank you, Georgia. I am pleased to say this one is in print, in ea's World Wonders book.
Glad you liked it.
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Mairi
"We know nothing but ourselves,
nor could we know more
if we searched the stars!
Our memory is as long as our last meeting,
and chains and freedom are alike to us,
as knowledge and ignorance."
I believe you wrote this with a little of that "stardust"!
(sorry about the paste job,but I am, admittedly, a lousy
commenter.)
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John, the whole thing worked just like free verse ought to. I recall it just flowed, saying what I wanted to say, giving the place a life and significance beyond what was in our power to speculate about, beyond all the assumptions about the purpose of the Henge.
And I appreciate your comments.
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I've always liked this poem. Your freeverse, while uncommon, is quite a treat. Brava!
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Yeah I do tend to let rip!
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Truly a splendid poem!
The magic of it infuses itself into the reader's poetic soul and makes her wish to make the trip to this enchanting place. 
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Thanks, hon.
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I agree...
I agree with them - I think it's good good too - VERY good... I n fact; exceptional of its genre... Mike
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A'Shuilleabhain... Thank you very much indeed.
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Intense..I didnt think I could get through it all but it was over before I knew it. Amazing free verse.
This is the kind of work that inspires me to step outside my "style" of writing. -
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A comment such as that makes me want to find out what makes you tick as a poet... be prepared for a visit.
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As per usual dear Lady, You place imagery to the fore in my mind. I can see the "wraiths" and smile. You always weave You thoughts into a beautifully textured material of words. Thank You for sharing.
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rascal, thank you for visiting My poem. I am glad you liked it.
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Beautiful
This is mysterious and surreal. I love the line "chains and freedom are alike to us", I see a wonderful peace of mind that transcends mortal cares. I see you got the gold and deservedly so. Congrats!
. Rewarded 4
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"mysterious and surreal" is what I was aiming for. Thank you very much.
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I like how I can see how the "crescent moon has hooked the stars" in the actual photo, now as I look at it.
The last quarter of the poem is especially meaningful to me as I feel it addresses lives lived over and over again and love refound. "Our memory is as long as our last meeting" -- so much comes in between and we forget and yet what is vivid in each lifetime, in finding love, comes back around and in a way, we are asleep in between those meetings. There's a mystic quality to the lines about slipping into the shadows that addresses the great mystery that nature religions extol, too. Just a marvelous piece that I feel will only strengthen in meaning over time. -
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ea I am very satisfied/gratifed that you are getting so much out of this by reading so much into it. That is the wonder of setting a work of art free - so that it can play on other people's minds and imaginations.
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Awesome
It’s amazing, what can be found by excavating Salisbury or when browsing AP…
I’m glad I clicked… this is one of the places I would love to visit…
your poem is beautiful… very well written metaphorically and in free verse… and the alliterations were icing on the cake… reading was an enjoyable experience… thanx for sharing with us… congratulations on winning gold… you deserved it by far…
mina
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Beautiful imagery! You add to the mystery of Stonehenge thru the mystery of the lovers:
"we slip and shiver into the shadows
the way we came together,
into unguessed places,
the homes, the sleep we do not remember,
I to the East, you to the West."
Marvelous write. You certainly deserved the gold!
Thanks for sharing this one.
. Rewarded 6
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Brilliant! You completely took my breath away with this poem. You described everything so wonderfully and made me feel this magical, spiritual emotion. I loved it all! Well done on the trophy, it was definately deserving.
. Rewarded 4
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Well done this was a brilliant piece you deserved to win! Ami
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Wonderful
Very very beautiful. Your word choice and flow are very well chosen. I have absolutely no suggestion for improvement, just awe for the poetry you've produced.
. Rewarded 4
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Beautiful. Worded so elegantly. You deserved to have one the gold, definitely. Congratulations.
the sleep we do not remember,
I to the East, you to the West.
my favourite lines, they struck something within me and my heart fluttered as I read them.
Thank you for sharing. -
What a delight...
This verse is moving and simply fabulous. Congratulations on the gold - it is there for good reason. I fell into the story and wanted to live it. I love when a verse does that to me. Simply excellent. Thank you. ~Pamela
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It really gives me such overwhelming and refreshing imagination.
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I think you were right to feature this wonderful poem. I am certainly glad that I was given the opportunity to read it
. Rewarded 4
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I really appreciate the confirmation. Thank you.
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Stonehenge is a very spiritual place.I just hope it doesn't float away in all this rain.Are you aa fed up with it as I am.Lovely poem, Ros
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Hi Ros. Well, I live in Scotland which - unbelieveably - is getting less rain than England this summer. It's sunny at the moment, but we could do with some more sun. Thanks for dropping by.
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Brilliant!! This is pure brilliance, no wonder you got the gold - Congratulations. I loved this, especially being in one long verse as it seem to create a spiraling effect that just emphasize your words. I love the subtle alliteration you brought in too. You come full circle with this with the coming and going from East to West. Well done again!!
. Rewarded 6
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Nanette, I am a little overwhelmed by all the reaction I got to this poem, which is why I decided to feature it, to see if more people thought it was good. Would you believe I wrote it quickly as a practice piece? The alliteration just seemed to happen, as did the "spiraling" of images. The "coming full circle" was perhaps the most deliberate thing about it, echoing the circular structure of the site. I am very glad you liked it.
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Lovely writing. I hope this wins. There's something nostalgic about the people being spoken of here and it's so real to me that I feel I know them.
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Thank you for your comments and the kind wish for success.
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Great
Just a lovely, romantic, and mystical write! Stonehenge is amazing and this poem does it beautiful Justice, thanks for sharing,
Uriah
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Thanks for dropping by, Uriah, and for your kind comments.
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This really touches me, Mairi. Wow.
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{smiles} I am glad.
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Your unique elegance of thought flows out of this poem like a sparkling river of brilliant shining fresh water. Your poetry is always a joy to savor.
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You are very kind
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Your free verse is fabulous and every bit as intense and impeccably crafted as your formal verse. My lack of knowledge about Stonehenge and its history limits my ability to comment with depth and intelligence on this remarkable poem in terms of its finer points, so I will just say that this was a tremendous piece. Its really good to read your exceptional writing once again, and I wish you all the best of luck in the contest.
D.D.M.
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Thank you very much, David, for your comments. I used to write nothing but free verse (very much like this) and drifted into formal verse because I wanted to sculpt my work more. I felt my free verse was becoming an excuse for lack of technical power. But I kick back from time to time and try to write more freely - some friends say I had more of an edge when I wrote that way.
The history of Stonehenge is very mysterious. That is one reason I have wrapped something else mysterious around it in this poem.
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