On these dark days
and endless nights
I turn away
My many faces
From your gaze
A thousand names
have not yet captured
My meaning, and still
I turn anew, phase
Another face
Towards your unseeing eyes
Only to be unseen once more
Turning darkness into light
And light to dark
Giving birth to life
And dying a death

Ignore me at your peril
For I have always been
Toying leaves to fall
Leaving trees
Standing, baring all
This is the time
For moonshine
And starry nights
Against a backdrop of cold
Creatures comforting
Souls deep underground
Close to my beating heart
Drawing in breath after breath
Slow and slower still
Slowing down
Descending
Into darker sounds

As the world around you
Empties of glittering gold
Dandelion, daffodil
Buttercup and yellow rose
Sweet kisses sent to earth
Mirroring the sun’s glow
But no more
As the world empties of soft light
Now but a distant memory
Warmer times replaced by harsh heavenly Skies pierced with diamond eyes
As all that you once knew of love falls
Into extremities
My cloak wraps tightly
Surrounding you in ceremony

These dark days and endless nights I wear a mask to hide my face
For to look upon the crone
Will have you drown in currents unknown Yet if you are wild enough to enter
My womb, my tomb, my cave of transformation I will take you into crackling fire
Sit next to you upon hearthstone
Guide you on how to embrace death So that you may live truly for one more breath.

by Lynda Phelan, Samhain 2022