for the Druids of Avebury, and my muse
*
So many kings of old have come to me
At midnight, in the winter, at the still
In crowns of holly, clothed with mystery
Come riding proudly down from yonder hill
With torches flaming, salamander eyes
Ablaze with ancient summers full of lust
And I have had them all within my thighs
And I have turned them all to ice and dust
Except for he who keeps my fires alight
When darkness falls too deep to understand
Who lies with me all winter, till the night
Recedes, and spring returns to seed the land
With him I make, beneath the mistletoe
The burning shapes of angels in the snow
*
© Gail Foster 16th December 2017