Monday, October 26, 2020

When Fairies Appear



image from pinterest.com

 When Fairies Appear

“At Samhain, the circle of the year comes to its

final spoke.”--Diana Rajchel.


I have a Celtic Cross placed in a dark corner of my

back yard, between two ancient maples, drenched 

in shadows except at high noon when gray glows

as white, and the faint sound of bagpipes wafts

softly in the distance.


I pay very little attention to Halloween. It’s Samhain

for me, celebrating the coming of the darker half of

the year, when the cattle, sheep, chickens and

turkeys are slaughtered, when the veil between

dimensions is at its thinnest, when the fairies return,

when angry clouds crowd the ashen skies, their

bellies swollen black with future deluge and flood,

when most harvests are completed, and soon their

bounty will decorate holiday tables. Sadly, Samhain,

All Saints Day, and All Souls Day have merged into

the Madison Avenue artificiality of Halloween.


Rooks and ravens flap

over black cats in October

under a blue moon.


Glenn Buttkus


Posted over at d'Verse Poet's Pub Haibun

12 comments:

Jane Dougherty said...

Keep that Celtic cross out of the way. It has no place in the notion of Samhain. I thoroughly agree with you about the Halloween jamboree—utter crap.

brudberg said...

I am brought up with all saints day, and remembering your forefathers it's a much more solemn day...

Lucy said...

Very haunting and dark imagery here, Glenn. I do not really care much for Halloween either, quite honestly.

indybev said...

It has become a retailers cash cow and outdoor decorations become more and more elaborate. You describe them aptly, Glenn. Me? I'm for some colorful chrysanthemums and a couple of pumkpkins in honor of fall harvest.

Kim M. Russell said...

I agree, Glenn, for me it’s Samhain too. I don’t like how Halloween has taken over, so commercial and artificial. No wonder the moon is blue.

JadeLi said...

That dark area where the Celtic Cross lies in darkness and the "gray glows as white" is quite as enchanting as it is terrifying. No thanks to that corner of the garden! You did this dark time of the year up right, Glenn.

Frank J. Tassone said...

Yes, Samhain... the primordial embodiment of this transitional time. Well-evoked here, Glenn!

robkistner said...

Eye 2 Eye and fascinated by that ancient element of the Celtic legends. I think it’s richer and certainly more frightening or maybe I should say more stimulating than Halloween. But still brother I got to wish you a happy Halloween! :-)

Gillena Cox said...

Light and dark, struggle on.
Happy Halloween
Thanks for dropping by to read mine

Much💛love

sarah said...

Now that's spooky. I love your depiction of the start of the dark half of the year. Literally so - the clocks were put back this weekend - it feels very dark at the moment! Great write, Glenn, really enjoyed it.

Ingrid said...

I love this paired-down non-commercial Halloween: 'when the veil between

dimensions is at its thinnest.' I knew there had to be some positives to this time of year!

Merril D. Smith said...

I've never been much of a fan of Halloween either. Samhain makes much more sense to me. It's definitely the start of the dark time of year.