Rowan by Michele Waering

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Bob McCranie

Do not bury witches beneath me
my roots are neither iron nor water

Rather watch for my seedlings
set them in a circle around you

Let my blossoms bring hope to you
unfurling after uncertain winters

Come late summer orange berries
precise blackbirds forage delicate-beaked
starlings slop-scatter
magpies hammer into my arms

Do not curse beneath my branches
deep green or sparse

Never as old as the erne
older than runes and rune-makers
berries brighter than Celts’ hair

Watch with me as seasons change become strange
Do not curse beneath my branches