Mabh Savage's Blog: A Celtic Witch, page 3

NaPoWriMo Day 16: Heavy

Ants. They show me ants

Marching across the path

Suddenly a way to connect

With the one that avoids me

We see an evicted queen

Or perhaps one starting out alone

“They usually die”

I’m informed

Mate, don’t I know it.

We watch the incredible, impossibly straight lines of workers

Guarded by winged soldiers

They carry bee corpses

Crisps

Slices of leaf

Held aloft like

Comically large shark costumes.

They can carry

Many times their own weight

I know you do too.

NaPoWriMo Day 15: Mid-Month Writer’s Block

This filler haiku

Was my husband’s suggestion

I quite like it, too.

NaPoWriMo Day 14: Watermelon Pretty

She dances the flamenco

Green dress red lined

Watermelon pretty

Lush and fat

Just like me

I sigh

Older than the rest

Just like me

I gasp

Her feet stomp with rhythm

With rage

Lucia,

I think they call her

Lucia the loud one

The fierce one

Dress sweeping above her head

Eyes holding the audience

Fixing you in place

Stamp stamp

Swing

Sear and back again

She tells a story

With her feet, hips and hands

The castanets rattle out their applause

And so do we.

NaPoWriMo Day 13: There’s nothing so great as the beach

Image shows a neat row of thatched parasols on a pale sandy beach. Image copyright Mabh Savage 2023.

There’s nothing so great as the beach

Sand between the toes

Warm and chafing

You know it’ll be a nightmare later

But right now

It’s lovely

Chilly, searing cold sea

Then after a minute,

It’s refreshing

Lemonade for the sole

Lapping at heat-dried ankles

A fizzy soda pop ocean

Crackling round shells and pebbles

The kids bring me dozens

Scallops, clams, fossils

Piling treasure around me

I’m a dragon with my hoard

Hot and happy

Slightly steaming

Hungry, but not ready to leave

The beautiful, brilliant beach.

NaPoWriMo Day 12: Strawberry Water

Image shows a large glass dispenser filled with water and strawberries on a shelf on a wooden table, paper cups in a basket are visible to the left. Image copyright Mabh Savage 2023.

Strawberry agua,

She says,

So proud to have learnt

That snippet of Spanish

Grinning at me, at the host,

At the big glass dispenser

Packed with glossy red fruit

Chilled water

Little paper cups

Take as much as you want.

Sí, agua de fresa

I agree

Not correcting

Praising

Expanding.

Strawberry agua

She insists

And if everyone knows what she means,

Or if one person does

Or none, but she’s happy…

Why not?

NaPoWriMo Day 11: Flying Without Moving

Image shows clouds and part of an aeroplane wing seen from the aeroplane window. Image copyright Mabh Savage 2023.

We took the plane to Benalmádena with the kids

Determined to get to the sun

Before it got to us

Manchester to Malaga

Flying without moving

Seated in the centre

Of my home and heart

Two either side

Playing on phones

Sleeping

Eating

Gazing at clouds

Watching the sunset

Above the cumulating cumulus

I’m motionless,

Loved in the rays of the dipping star

Flying without moving.

NaPoWriMo Day 10: The Curlew, She Calls Me

Image shows a curlew sat in the top of a pine tree against a bright blue sky. Free image from WordPress.

Nothing moves me more than their call

Whooping joyfully over the tents

Winding up over and over

A perpetual toy helicopter

Always on the verge of either

Taking off or landing

The beating wings so fierce

So fast

Then soaring effortlessly

While their ghost cries fill the

Grey afternoon.

Then comes the night

Oyster catchers fly purposefully north east

Heading for the coast

Chasing the low tide

Yet the curlew still roams

Perhaps she’s guarding her nest

Perhaps she’s talking to a neighbour

Perhaps she’s just out doing bird errands

Humans can’t fathom.

The curlew swoops, night-cloaked and haunting

Joyfully spiralling upward in tone

Calling me to linger

Calling me to wonder

Calling me to see.

NaPoWriMo Day 9: Egg Hunt

Image shows coloured eggs on a round plate. Free image from WordPress.

Time to get cracking

Climb out of sleep bagging

Put down all the packing

And get on the hunt!

The Easter Bun’s been

And we’ve already seen

A gold-blue silver sheen

Glinting out of the grass.

Little hands take the lead

Running hard through the weeds

While the grownups sip mead

And the treasures amass.

Pile of eggs, rabbits, sweets

Unexpected neat treats

Backed by hypersonic squeaks

Mama’s ears take the brunt!

Silence falls on the field

That was kind enough to yield

Chocolate treasure that reeled

Our little kids’ minds.

We’re in awe as they tuck

Into chocolate, drunk

From the pleasure they took

From their Easter Hunt finds.

NaPoWriMo Day 8: A Naming

Image copyright Mabh Savage 2023. Image ID: Green grass and bright blue sky with a few small white clouds seen through the mesh window of a tent.

We stood before the gods and named him

Parents, sponsors, family, friends, and tribe

They held him gently and firmly

Safe and loved

Rounding the circle

With bread and mead

His brother spoke loud and sweet

Melting our hearts

While we played our parts

Committing ourselves to this

Still tiny life.

A naming before the quarters

A naming before the elements

A naming before the stones, grass, and sky.

NaPoWriMo Day 7: Finding Tribe

Image copyright Mabh Savage 2023. Image ID: Trees silhouetted against a starry night sky.

We come together in the great field

Some linked by blood

Many not

But all in joy

And canvas

And love of the fire

We laugh and cry and hold each other tight

Some close calls this past winter

Yet we’re all still here

I watch the moon rise

Listen to snores

Shuffles

Whispers and giggles

I nod to Lokabrenna

Torch of Skytreader

Transformational one who reminds us

Of joy, hold onto joy…

Grateful for the home

We always have.