Mabh Savage
Words and the world passing by; how it sings to me; how I clamour back.
Distracted by the Birds
I often find myself distracted in the kitchen. I’m supposed to be jamming. Making jam, not music. But the pigeons coo, the great tits see-saw whistle, the blue tits chatter and the wrens scold, their huge voices belying their tiny bodies.
My feelings war between this scolding, this feeling that I ‘should’ be busy, and the delight of my avian company. Particularly during this holiday period, we are pressured to be busy, doing, making, buying; pleasing. Sometimes I just want to please myself. To sing, to speak Spanish, to read, to shout at the radio, to cuddle the cats and children.
Oh, I do love making jam, but it’s become a chore for now. Now the birds call to me. I can’t help but listen.
Wasted Tea Haiku
Sometimes the tea is
Heavy, dense; peculiar.
Why did it go cold?
Solstice Decorating
We’ve not got much money this year so we’re finding new (old) ways to make the place look festive! Big thanks to Leeds Real Junk Food Project Sharehouse for rescuing flowers that were going to be thrown away by supermarkets. We got two lovely bunches on a pay-as-you-feel basis and they have certainly added to the festive feel.
Old Ways/New Ways
I’m frying things in butter
Oil in cupboard, with the clutter
Bottling rainwater from buckets
Standing guard until it chucks it
Down and how I check the weather
Smell of air and pinch of leather
Pine cone shrinking, mercury rising
Direct sun and cloud apprising
As if I can tell them what to do.
But I write this on my smartphone
Fruit of youth no Celtic bygone
And I check notifications
For my next purification
Crystal Jilly posts on Facebook
Love and joy, kindness and luck
And when the butter burns and smokes
Electric fan extracts while we tell jokes
About politics, science, art
Passions of the head and heart
Those ways, new ways, that show us
What to do.
The Path
This poem was written for Sue Dudley, one of the winners of a competition during the Pagan Federation Beltane Online Festival. Sue was happy for me to share the poem that she inspired. I just never got around to it until now! I am very disorganised… Sue gave me some ideas and told me a little about her life, and this is the poem that resulted from that. Thanks Sue, you were a great muse.
The Path
Of all the steps we take
The first step is the hardest
And I’ve taken mine
I’ve crossed the line
Into wonders wyrd and wild.
The dog, the man and I
Moving closer to the green
With fruit so sweet
And veg, and meat,
From our hills, ours hands; our lands.
A life of magic calls
The world laid out before me
Seasons turn
While passions burn
Beneath the Lord and Lady’s gaze.
My wishes manifesting,
Under Welsh skies, blue and grey
Woodland scenes
Sparkling streams
A far cry from the concrete maze.
My journey starts anew,
Walking with my ancestors, so proud
A path so new
But cutting through
The fog of all that went before.
A laugh within my soul
Which leaps, and reaches for the sky
My gods look on
And watch upon
My world; my change; my chance;
See my spirit soar.
Meet Mabh Savage – pagan, author and herbalist
via Meet Mabh Savage – pagan, author and herbalist
Big thanks to Wendy for such an enjoyable interview!
I’m on the radio!
8pm tonight, Wyldwood Radio. An interview and a bit of music too! Enjoy.
