{"id":74307,"date":"2020-06-28T03:13:41","date_gmt":"2020-06-28T07:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/?p=74307"},"modified":"2020-06-28T05:35:31","modified_gmt":"2020-06-28T09:35:31","slug":"midsummer-nights-ritual-6-21-19-hour-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/midsummer-nights-ritual-6-21-19-hour-19\/","title":{"rendered":"MIDSUMMER NIGHT\u2019S RITUAL 6\/21\/19 – Hour 18"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIDSUMMER NIGHT\u2019S RITUAL 6\/21\/19<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/i>A Narrative Poem & A True Story<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\n<\/span>misaligned after a loss<\/span><\/p>\n

I stumbled after spring onto my warm beach<\/span><\/p>\n

good herb in my backpack, candles sage and crystals<\/span><\/p>\n

wine and berries, offerings to the holy guardians<\/span><\/p>\n

by all their names \/ in all their forms<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

the Earth herself beneath me<\/span><\/p>\n

longing for the sun as I longed for the sun<\/span><\/p>\n

straining with need as I strained with need<\/span><\/p>\n

and today was the solstice<\/span><\/p>\n

equality juxtaposed in the spheres themselves<\/span><\/p>\n

summer burgeoning under our hands<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I never plan my rituals<\/span><\/p>\n

only scan for my \u201cspot\u201d like Don Juan taught<\/span>
\n<\/span>finding it in the perfect inbetweenness<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>beneath a willow tree<\/span><\/p>\n

against the flashing pier<\/span><\/p>\n

the great lake waves crashing on the shore<\/span>
\n<\/span>a sinkhole swallowed all the beach before me<\/span>
\n<\/span>except one narrow strand along the water to cross by<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>I laid my pack, I drew my circle<\/span>
\n<\/span>a simple charm one sister taught me well<\/span>
\n<\/span>thrice round, selenite rod in hand I sang,<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cHere upon this sacred ground, <\/span>
\n<\/span>I cast my circle all around.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Fire, water, earth and air<\/span>
\n<\/span>Within the circle, I call thee here<\/span>
\n<\/span>Lo, North, South, East, and West,<\/span>
\n<\/span>By your power, this circle is blessed.\u201d <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>I laid my things and sat, realizing with sharp immediacy<\/span>
\n<\/span>the alone-ness of my surroundings and the late hour<\/span>
\n<\/span>and my naked back exposed to the pier for approach from either side.<\/span>
\n<\/span>I was nervous but I drew in a steadying breath. <\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cI trust that Spirit called me here,\u201d I said, \u201cTo give thanks for what I have<\/span>
\n<\/span>To offer my plans for the future,<\/span>
\n<\/span>and to ask for guidance and favor. I was here guided, so here I will stay.\u201d <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Across the curving shoreline some three-odd miles away<\/span>
\n<\/span>Fireworks sparked and sounded off Spirit\u2019s synchronistic reply.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Relieved I offer up my wine and soon,<\/span><\/p>\n

young revellers join me across the way<\/span>
\n<\/span>within eyesight, within earshot<\/span>
\n<\/span>but beyond the strand and circle<\/span>
\n<\/span>now separating The Real from The Fae<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Alone-but-not-alone, reassured by the presence of a distant earthly witness<\/span>
\n<\/span>I offered up the berries, the herb, the sage, tobacco, candles, crystals<\/span>
\n<\/span>Thanking Divinity for my blessings and charging Divinity to guide my hand<\/span>
\n<\/span>the next phase of my life blooming like the summer<\/span>
\n<\/span>I prayed for a revolution of spirit \/ and this was 2019 mind you<\/span>
\n<\/span>so I can\u2019t be certain it\u2019s wise to admit to that<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The hour was morning small now.<\/span>
\n<\/span>My ritual all but concluded, I tucked my herb deep in my bag<\/span>
\n<\/span>The revellers ended with more fireworks<\/span>
\n<\/span>and I marveled at the appropriate synchronicities of my ritual<\/span>
\n<\/span>Truly there was no doubt now- all the Earth was my temple<\/span>
\n<\/span>and every element would align with my attentive friendship<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>So I cleansed myself in the lake, <\/span>
\n<\/span>I poured out my wine to the sacredness of conscious<\/span>
\n<\/span>of Earth herself and of all Divinity by all Their names<\/span>
\n<\/span>Then with my selenite wand again in hand,<\/span>
\n<\/span>Circled the air thrice to close my circle and end my night,<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>\u201cDepart in peace all spirits here,<\/span>
\n<\/span>Our work is at an end! <\/span>
\n<\/span>Fire, Water, Earth and Air<\/span>
\n<\/span>Away and home I send<\/span>
\n<\/span>To North, South, East, and West<\/span>
\n<\/span>My thanks and greetings do I sound<\/span>
\n<\/span>With this, the circle is unbound.<\/span>
\n<\/span>The circle is open but unbroken.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Merry meet, Merry part, and Merry meet again.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I kneel on the sand and begin to gather my tools. <\/span>
\n<\/span>Just then, two flashlights approach with heavy boots up the sandy pier.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Two police officers from the local precinct, likely sent <\/span>
\n<\/span>to investigate the fireworks or maybe the music from the revellers who left <\/span>
\n<\/span>But they\u2019re looking at me now, light in my eyes, and say \u201cMa\u2019am <\/span>
\n<\/span>This park closes at 10PM.\u201d <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>I smile, friendly. My herb is deep in my bag, and I know my privilege<\/span>
\n<\/span>even if it makes me sick. Even if I just prayed for change. <\/span>
\n<\/span>That\u2019s one thing about Thoughts & Prayers they say and I don\u2019t disagree, but still<\/span>
\n<\/span>They can\u2019t see my heart through my skin. So I say, \u201cOh, I\u2019m sorry officers.<\/span>
\n<\/span>I did know that. But you see, it\u2019s Midsummer, and I thought maybe,<\/span>
\n<\/span>No one would notice one person.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The officers are clearly perplexed. I am not afraid. I know I don\u2019t need to be, and,<\/span><\/p>\n

I know it\u2019s wrong. But still I smile. Friendly. Sane. Definitely not worth the paperwork. <\/span>
\n<\/span>They look at each other, then back at me. One of them says, \u201cMidsummer?\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>I let out a small \u201cHmm.\u201d Like a teacher. Like a librarian. A friendly one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not reprimanding. But not not-educating. That customer service voice,<\/span>
\n<\/span>that baby-talk-for-Boomers voice. You know what I mean.<\/span>
\n<\/span>When I answer, I speak slowly. Not a caricature, like a real person,<\/span>
\n<\/span>being careful to be simple, and careful to avoid rudeness, but unavoidably<\/span>
\n<\/span>talking down to two cops alone in the dark.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you see,\u201d I say, \u201cMidsummer<\/span>
\n<\/span>Is a holiday celebrated by spiritualists, or neo-pagans, and other Earth religions\u2026\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>(the looks I\u2019m getting are incredible by the way) <\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cSo, I celebrate an Earth religion\u2026\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>(stare)<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cand today is the first day of summer. So it\u2019s a holiday.\u201d <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>One cop squints at me. The other cop scratches his head. <\/span>
\n<\/span>Cop One says \u201cDo you even have a flashlight?\u201d <\/span>
\n<\/span>I say, \u201cI\u2019ve got my phone\u2026 somewhere. Besides, my night vision is pretty good.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>Cop Two says \u201cYou\u2019re awfully brave to be out here all alone, Miss.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Now I know what you\u2019re thinking and there\u2019s no way to replay without it sounding bad<\/span>
\n<\/span>Those were the words he said but that wasn\u2019t how I heard them,<\/span>
\n<\/span>Just as (I think) they didn\u2019t hear my amusement to educate them just moments before.<\/span>
\n<\/span>ACAB, still, maybe even these ones. Again, I can\u2019t really know. <\/span>
\n<\/span>Privileges are blinders that are given to me by devils every day.<\/span>
\n<\/span>All I can do is keep my ears sharp and listen to what they mean to say<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>But I\u2019m kneeling in the sand, and I want a goddamn revolution,<\/span>
\n<\/span>So I look up at these gentlemen bastards and this is what I say:<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cWell, Officer. If you believe in Spirit, or anything like that<\/span>
\n<\/span>and you feel guided to do something. Something specific.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You sort of have no choice, except to believe that you <\/span>can<\/span><\/i> do something<\/span>
\n<\/span>and if you do, it\u2019ll all work out all right.\u201d <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>So I left them scratching their heads on that beach<\/span>
\n<\/span>As I hurried back to my car<\/span>
\n<\/span>At once both relieved and sicked that my privilege kept me safe<\/span><\/p>\n

and sans a mild-to-moderate fine under decriminalization<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>Never knowing that each request would be granted and more<\/span>
\n<\/span>Never knowing the prescient meaning of the police presence<\/span>
\n<\/span>Not then. Not yet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>I hope they think about what I meant.<\/span><\/p>\n

I doubt they think about what I meant.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>As for the future,<\/span>
\n<\/span>Truth is only ever determined in hindsight.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>If you want your Big Life Lesson from 2020,<\/span><\/p>\n

There it is. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MIDSUMMER NIGHT\u2019S RITUAL 6\/21\/19 A Narrative Poem & A True Story   misaligned after a loss I stumbled after spring onto my warm beach good herb in my backpack, candles sage and crystals wine and berries, offerings to the holy guardians by all their names…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1491,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marathon-poem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1491"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74307"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74338,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74307\/revisions\/74338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}