Summer Solstice at Stone Henge

The ears of the ancestors open
To all of us
Stone Henge stands proudly
Vacant and strong
On a vast chalky plain
And great flank of grass
Exposed amazingly
Inviting the throng

To come and be mesmerised
To come to feel so much
The Neolithic the eternal force
Grounded and positive
Tempered by history
Projecting transcending
Existence and course

Awakened minds are regarded
with interest
Into the car park
Ready to be
Robed up and lifted to realms
High and mighty
The Cotswold Order
All there thankfully

On the hill with a light
Of extraordinary brightness
Armies of poppies danced in the breeze
Lifting our spirits
Enjoying the music
The musings the joyousness
That clearly did please

We are an array of the glorious
Order
Robes hoods and staffs
An unravelling throng
Multifarious costumes
Unique and original
Onto the buses
Where we did belong

Then out into the light
To march into glory
With the music of STYX
Stroud’s majestic band
Clad in the Black and the red
and the green
Drums mark our destiny
Give us our queue
Up to the stones
Thats what we do

STYX were the Morris Men
Ladies and Gentlemen
Setting the path
With their tireless display
And we could all hear
The great Sarsons
calling
The rugged the ancient the stones
And their way

Of setting the drama
We all felt much calmer
The circle engaged
We held hands and we knew
A brief meditation a coming together
A real culmination
Of all that was true

Calling for Peace in the North
In the South in the West in the East
By Celtic design
We opened the gates one by one
Hail and mighty
The circle enlivened
And feeling divine

The Arch Druids welcome
Was clear and was lovely
Then the Holly King
And the Oak King appeared
Their pages were summoned
And their great staffs passed to them
Let the battle commence
With its usual ring

Both battled long and hard
Sticks crashing violently
The oak king his reign ending
The Holly king he
Saw off the Oak King
Who lay sadly bleeding
Then came the Lady of Summer
And her maidens
To dance in mourning the Oak King
Was dying sadly

To the ladies of Summer
And her maidens
our Bard
recited the poem
Of instruction to guard
Then clearly to show them
Why and wherefore
Whereupon we were called
To dance with affection
And did so for sure

Couples were joyous
We danced for a while
The Oak King was gone
But fought with such style
Then came the mead and the
Cake and we
Heard
it blessed
We were indulged
Thats what occurred

Then the bard he stood up
And gave his Solstice Rhyme
Injecting some humour
To well pass the time

Then we saw STYX a rebellious crew
Drawing such verve preparing a stew
Of gaiety dance and stick tapping soul
That had our toes tapping out of control
Beautiful costumes they exuded such joy
3 classic dances and they did employ
Spirit and happiness their energy
And the saxophone’s tones
And their music and Qi
I enjoyed it so much they gave me a high
Willing the sun to shine down from the sky

Myriad colours traditional dance
A mirrored hat black faces
Leaving Nothing to chance
They were just wonderful
They were just great
And you could feel the life force
Rising a rate

Then the purple drummer’s
with their soft refrain
Calmed us and charmed us
Again and again
They went through two numbers
A treat I will say
Moving I thought
A moving display

Then the talking stick
Where we all had a chance
Each did participate
A couple from France
Were here both were druids
From Provence they
Were dressed in their fineries
For the great day

The witches from Wales
And so many more
Told us their stories
Seedlings for sure
A song and a poem
And barrels of fun
Uplifting the spirt
Thats how its done
Claudia mentioned the moon
As we learned
If full before solstice
We should be concerned
It can cause madness
The old loony tune
And all of that stuff
Is down to the moon

The druids prayer
Collectively said
The wonderful hum
To heal there were some
Who gave and received
The energy there
Magnified at the henge
With what was so much care

We finished with

Ho’s
Collectively spread
Wiltshire excited
The warmth which then fed
Up into the sky beyond and before
Exciting the sun to appear
Don’t ignore
The power of the circle
The wish of the crowd
The joyous emotions
And how they were showered

Over us all lightening our way
And the ancestors surely heard us today
There was great energy some felt it they
With the stones and the energy
Clearly at play
Like minds that generate positive thought
There in the shadows
I felt that we caught
A glimpse of some entities
Watching us all
Sharing the ritual
And coming to call

The four gates were closed we said our good byes
The ritual was over
Looking up to the skies
It did look much brighter
And I felt so in tune
And the sun did come out
Giving a flaming June

One observation I mention today
the Crows were observing
Some flying away
Frightened by the drums
But inquisitively
Aware that we share solutions
To free
Up hearts and the ancestors
Who came I feel
Would have been impressed
At what this did reveal

it was a really energising day I thought
A beautiful ceremony which everybody was party to
And contributed to

Thanks to all