Autumnal Garden by Deborah Petersen The hard work has been done. The easy work, play, can now be enjoyed. The big and bossy pumpkins and gourds bring a restful awareness; the playful cranberries bring laughter; the yams and potatoes, a deeper wisdom. Here, in the garden is peace and purpose. Here, in the garden is the blessing and the nourishment of a life, well-lived, deep rooted.
Mairéad Lewis
Samhain by Mairéad Lewis comes aos sí this night through the féth fíadha thin daoine maithe hither now — look up and see cailleacha flit across the yellow moon
Author Notes:
1. Samhain (pronounced saw-when): Gaelic; a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or “darker-half” of the year; in 2021 Samhain is on Sunday 31 October.
2. aos sí (pronounced ees-shee): older form Irish/Gaelic; Tuath Dé (tribe of the gods) or Tuatha Dé Danann (People of the goddess Danu), the ancient Irish race of gods, founded by the goddess Danu; a supernatural race in Irish mythology.
3. féth fíadha (pronounced feth fee-uhta): Gaelic; magic mist, veil between living humans and the Otherworld.
4. daoine maithe (pronounced dweenuh-maha): Irish/Gaelic; the good people (the dead; spirits; faeries).
5. cailleacha (keyll-uhch-uh): Irish/Gaelic; witches; plural of cailleach (witch).
©ACG
My Growing Interest Is In A Forest by Ndaba Sibanda What piques your interest When you walk into a forest? Its interrelated patterns, aura? Its processes, fauna and flora? Its fertility and biodiversity? Its leafiness, calm and novelty? I see diverse plants like I detect our cultures For forests are home to 80% of land creatures Plants cover 31% of the world`s total land area Trees push out pollutants, give us scent hysteria Greenery ably absorbs greenhouse gas emissions What a slight, chaotic tree cutters are temptations! Did I mention that a billion souls depend on forests For their incomes and daily subsistence requests? 40% of global renewable energy is derived from Forests. Where do medicinal properties come from? Talk of wood, solar, hydroelectric and wind power, Of leaky, teary trees; revel & feel the flood devour!
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