The Old Man And Woman Of The Sea.
Give us your tears they said,
Let them run down the rivers and into the sea.
So I gave them my tears
My sweet clear joy song ones
That sang across the meadows
That laughed through the woods
And burst out dancing on the beaches.
Give us more they said
These are not enough
But
I could not
Give them what they wanted.
I was holding on too tight
Hooked up bird boned swinging from a bare branch.
The wind came then,
And set me tumbling.
Give us your tears they said
Let them run down the rivers and in to the sea.
I found myself face down
Staring into a bowl of rich black earth
Scoured round with my howling
I wept.
I cried.
I howled and I howled
Til the sound seemed not to belong to me.
The earth turned to mud..
Then the waters welled up
In bright springs
In dark wells
It pooled and lay in ponds
It stretched into lakes and lochs
It ran in rivulets down windows
Spiraled round downspouts
Spilled over the gutters
It swept into streams
It burst banks.
It roared down the rivers
And crashed over the cliffs.
The old man and woman of the sea said
Give us your tears let them run down the rivers to the sea.
They sat and got on with their knitting.
He made a net to catch stars
And made them into animals that ran across the sky
She made them into orange starfish
She made pink sea anemones and chocolate brown bladderwrack
Tiny shrimps and blue lobsters
Determined limpets and the silver of fishes
Graceful weeds that dance with the tides
She made seals and whales and sharks
She made the octopus
Meanwhile her husband looked up at the sky and
Fashioned a halo for the moon.
Give us your tears they said
Let them run down the river and into the sea.
In memory of Anna, lover of the goddess and to all those who read and love such things.
wild wishes and blessings.
Amanda Claire x
PS I took this photo on Anglesey, Ynys Mon, (Mother Of Wales.
Beautiful, so much color and movement, a palpable journey.👐🏽🌊💗
Wow, Amanda💚🙏🏼☘️what a beautiful expression, the mix of pain and joy, the rich generosity of natural imagery, the settling in the lap of the Great Mother for another exquisite story of how it is…my cup of tea is singing your praises😊🙏🏼🥰