I am looking forward to Lammas/Lughnasa on August 1st and thinking about writing a thanksgiving/harvest poem for it.
I might do a version of John Barleycorn, which is a popular folk poem/ballad one version of which was written by Scottish poet John Burns. (Warning: it is a tale of a personification of corn/grain being killed in a cyclical manner, so some of it might be too graphic for your taste. I would say that if you can handle Shakespeare then you can handle this poem.)
Why would I enjoy this poem, you might wonder? In a neopagan setting, John Barleycorn personifies the rise and fall of summer and the sun throughout the year. He also symbolizes self-sacrifice. I also think of John Barleycorn whenever I think of all the things life can throw in your path that kind of knock you about, and getting up again afterward...for after all, next year John Barleycorn is planted again and it happens all over again.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-07-29 04:20 pm (UTC)I might do a version of John Barleycorn, which is a popular folk poem/ballad one version of which was written by Scottish poet John Burns. (Warning: it is a tale of a personification of corn/grain being killed in a cyclical manner, so some of it might be too graphic for your taste. I would say that if you can handle Shakespeare then you can handle this poem.)
Why would I enjoy this poem, you might wonder? In a neopagan setting, John Barleycorn personifies the rise and fall of summer and the sun throughout the year. He also symbolizes self-sacrifice. I also think of John Barleycorn whenever I think of all the things life can throw in your path that kind of knock you about, and getting up again afterward...for after all, next year John Barleycorn is planted again and it happens all over again.