In this between time, as winter starts to recede and spring starts to beckon, I return to Walking with Persephone, to following the crows.
Note: You might also be interested to check out Lucy Pearce’s new Creative Magic podcast episode all about Crow Moon. I have several exclusive contributions to the episode–three new poems about crows and some reflections about everyday magic.
In the deep winter,
wisdom gathers
at the crossroads,
by standing stones,
around cauldrons and hearth fires,
in embers and bones.
Brew tea.
Make magic and medicine.
Be patient.
Collect the embers.
Tip them into the forge.
Wait some more.
Make more tea.
Consult the bones.
Remember what you’ve promised
again and again.
Choose it.
Watch for crows
and where they assemble.
They know things
and they will share.
Follow bird footprints in the snow.
Watch snowflakes dance.
Watch blue jays and cardinals
bright against all that is white and gray.
Sink into your own soft places.
Carve out space for steeping,
for rest and renewal.
Remember how both devotion and inspiration
have shaped your way.
Recollect yourself,
what you’ve lost
and what you found.
Learn from the moon.
Keep reaching out your hands.
Patch dreams together
into a pattern that can hold you.
Step into what you wish for
and allow it
to refresh and strengthen you.
Create what you can.
Leave the rest to slumber
beneath the snow.
Sit with silence.
Inhale lavender.
Taste cinnamon and peppermint,
woodsmoke and wildness.
Stop trying quite so hard.
Keep following the crows.
