The winter solstice at Stone Henge 18/12

A rather grey and sombre morning
Greeted us as Stone Henge rose
Slowly from its dismal slumber
its welsh bluestones and sarson nose
Sheep were Tasting verdant grasses
sacred for these guys
It lacked its normal definition
but despite that peoples eyes

Were drawn to The stark grey morning
And Dampness it was there
The grass was a kind of an apple green
On this patchwork quilted scene
We all met up eventually
At the henge centre where we
Joined the group now waiting
For the buses we could see

Young Draig took his shepherding
Job
Seriously as he
Rounded up the druids
So everyone could be
Really all together
so All of us were there
And nobody would be missing
And The solstice ritual share

Lots and lots of tourists
With their video’s and phones
Clearly also interested in being near
The stones
But seeing all these robed up souls
Clearly excited by
Getting snap shots of us all
As they came on by

We really were a colourful crowd
With holly and ivy displays
With lots of Yule Tide splendour
All the yuletide ways
An air of spontaneity
And inspirational thought
Being led into the sanctum
Really being caught
Up in all that energy
It all was unrehearsed
Its where instinct takes over
Where you really feel that burst

Aa we all formed a nice circle
The inclusion and the grace
All the happy faces
Within this magickal space
Guarded by stone sentinels
Whose intention seemed clear
We each would hold a crock of gold
And knew we need not fear

We joined hands determining
To earmark by design
A deliberateness to focus
And on this joy just dine
Mythago came from Sussex
The minstrels of the dance
Their stories and their music
Were never left to chance

The druids and their visitors
Robed up and looking great
Colourful and seasonal
And their randomness did rate
Highly in our picture
Surrounded by the stones
The history the ancestors
And our standing on ancient bones

OUr wise archdruid Veronica
Preambled by desire
And took us through the ritual
And again that inner fire
Of being was within us all
A child naming ceremony
For Aurora Mae.be was soon in play
And all of us could be

Part of this it was open
A memorable event
With the family and the druids
And all our hearts were lent
Baptised with the earth
The air the fire
The water too
All the essential elements
For the spirits to imbue

I know I felt that energy
As an old man journeying on
And Aurora Mae.be will hear one day
When all of us are gone
Performed with utter gentleness
The gravity though was there
Veronica and Tina providing
All the care

Then the initiations
To each of them we say
That feeling deep down in your soul
Will never go away
Kneeling on that stool
The sword placed
Where it had to be
Witnessed by the friendly throng
Was heartfelt history

And Cab the great sword bearer
Stood by her where he be
And Had his handy scabbard
Aiding Veronica carefully

Admirable and creditable
And beneficial too
Really unsurpassable
For in essence very few
Attain this glorious honour
And in stepping over the chord
You enter the realms of druidry
To be your due reward

The OAK king and the Holly king
Stepped up to the plate
To duel for the great honour
But the Holly King would wait
He was soon sedated
His legs up in the air
Helped up by four sweet damsels
To realise and share

Volunteers were then called
To serve the food and wine
As jack frost in the background
Was taking his first shine
And gently he was reminding us
How cold we all could feel
Some had reached the shivering stage
What a sip of mead can reveal

The bard spoke of the trees
The birch native to our land
And reminded us of its qualities
To help us understand
Druidry how druids the ancient oak revere
With Bards it is the paper Birch for them it is very clear
The Ovates are drawn to the beloved YEW
And devining water the Hazel too

Then spoke a little about the Birch
Having conducted some research
He lived in Berkhamsted where The birch does grow
And unconsciously knew of its flow

Enter Mythago from Sussex they
a bully bunch of folks who play
Clad in rag and ribbon
In black and yellow and red
one narrates the story line
The Kings men roll rights stones
He said

Lots of deep down energy really from them all
And they were simply marvellous
succeeding as they do
In dance and shouts and bells a ringing
One has to take a view
Of the inner sanctum they
Revive the truly and splendid music
of a bygone day

The medieval thrust and jaunt
Toe tapping on a crusty day
Heroes and villians and witches
War bands so to say
5 parts they illustrated
With the utmost energy
Played out live for all of us
And the corvids too to see

The crows high in the crevices
Who fly around as we
Experience the solstice
Up there yea they be
Perhaps some are ancestors
Of long Long ago
Come back to share the story line
And just be in the flow

THen we had the speaking stick
Poems and songs galore
Introductions from far and away
But all of them were sure
And confident and noteworthy
And I thought very clear
The auditory quality amazing
For all there we could hear

We all then sang a carol
Played expertely by
The player with the violin
Who was able to apply
And so we sang the holly and the ivy
Collectively
Took photo’s and then left the sacred stones
Remarkably

joyous pumped and happy
For getting ready too
Divest ourselves of our robes and staffs
And re enter the world anew

Old faces and new faces
It was good to meet you all
There were clearly much joy in the hearts
And minds and we did haul
Ourselves in the tasting of mead and ginger wine
Through the shop and out into
the
Cafe Where some did then dine

And Were clearly reminscing and taking it all in
it was a lovely afternoon
Which would for some now underpin

The togetherness and thought
Of amusement snd tranquility
For afterall we sought
To come together within the henge
And really to rejoice
At what our minds have given us
The beauty of our choice

To don our robes and regalia
And set forth to be where
Our ancestors could be with us
And,to prove we all could share
The humour and the pleasantry
The music and the dance
And all the beautiful ladies
That were not all there by chance

I thought your costumes were wonderful
The holly the mistletoe
The kisses in abundance
The joy that seemed to flow
All that solstice effort
From Veronica and Dave
And the great coming together
Of our wonderful yule tide rave

THankyou everybody for making it so special

MYthago incidentally
Comes from the genre fantasy
A novel written by Robert Holdstock
About the Huxley family
Related to a tiny wood
And a mental abberation
A kind dryad creature
With a great imagination

Written in 1984
A certain myth was born
A fitting name for the fustian clad
With their skeleton heads that warn
With their drummers and the accordian
And the fiddle player too
These are the morris dancers
Who worked the stories through