Some poetry

"The incense crackles beside me
In the quiet space;
The tattooist makes his mark"

"The scent of jasmine
On the air;
The night is now at its end"

And that's about the most you'll get out of me for a long while :P

I've never been particularly good with poetry, even though I like reading it well enough.  I think I may have added to my English teacher's grey hairs growing up because of my general un-willingness to put prose to paper.  I can make up a poem on the run, but my word, never ask me to it into writing!  I have this obssession with written rhyme that goes beyond accepted levels of sanity.

The thing for me is that the first poems I heard were kiddies' rhymes.  Yes, I know, for the most part this applied to all of us, but for me it goes back to the thing where once I have the idea in my head, it sticks.  I have some difficulty being open to new ideas on something I "know".

I have one or two friends who actually have no poetic issues whatsoever.  The one is Ivic-Wulfe (his DevArt handle) and the other is my ollamh, who was supremely surprised to blog a poem he had written after a conversation over my last blog.  I loved the poem, but he told me honestly that he never "poems".  His poem is below, no paraphrasing or anything done to it:

"From the dark entrapments of HER soil,
I rise unto this world.
The dust swirl around my feet
as the winds sweep the leaves
to follow in a whirlwind of birth
where I now, in the eye of the hurricane
stand tall and free
an African Man.

Although my skin tells the tale
of Skyscrapers and Ossewa's,
my heart tells the sings the songs
of the Hyena's laughter,
while my blue eyes speak of
Union Jacks and the money market
Soul rumbles like a Lion,
reverberating through the forests,
for all my animal brothers and sisters to hear.
For I am an African Man.

For too long has HER soil
been broken and torn by clash
of our indifferent heritage.
The time is here to show the world
that all of us have at some point or other
been nursed on the placenta
of HER primeval void.
But we have denied her,
And set ourselves apart from,
while claiming always that we are not of  her.
White as I may be,
I am an African Man.

No longer do I linger
on the promises of a world fulfilled
by machines and hatred.
No longer do I beg for knowledge
at the feet of man
who does not hear HER heartbeat.
No longer do I wish to understand
the magick of Europeans,
Lost in their books.
I am an African Man.

My heart beats to rhythm of HER drum
and my every step is guided
by the Ancestors and the Buffalo
I learn from the tales
retold by the Zulu Shaman
and I feed on the nectar of HER breast
while embracing the magick
that moves not around me
but within my very being
For I am an African Man."

-Z.

Isn't this just lovely?

Peace, love and good Karma to one and all!!

P.S.:  for samples of Ivic-Wulfe's poetry, here's the link.

I'm such an interesting person that I really wish I had more to blog about.

As it happens, I don't have all that much, and I only blog when something interesting happens.

(Oh, that quip about me being interesting - just a quip!)

I have, however, started writing again.  Oh, no, nothing you'll find published, but stuff for my own enjoyment.  and not poetry.  Ugh.  I could never get into the flow of writing poems.

Thanks to my ollamh, I've "discovered" a "new" goddess:  Minona, the Dafomey goddess of divination (read 'fortune-telling'), sorcery/witchCraft and fertility, and also a protector of women.  According to most sites, she had no temples as I presume other gods did, but women built shrines to her in their houses and made offereings of fresh fruit to honour her.

I wonder... does 'fertility' also translate to desire or even lust?  Anyway.

The type of fortune-telling Minona was sent to Earth to teach people was the reading of palm kernels.  Sadly, that skill has been lost.  This is where the question arises of, can she thus be called upon for other forms of divination?  I'd like to think so, but then the original skill she taught gets ignored.  My Pagan friends, please give me your thoughts on this matter.

I know her Greek counterpart, Hecate, Mother of Witches, is a "general" goddess of divination.

As part of the course I'm doing with my ollamh, we have to do a book report (which, please note, I thought only existed in America).  As such, I've been doing quite a bit of reading, sadly forcing myself to do it (I've never enjoyed reading anything remotely non-fiction except for history).  I will admit, before one and all, though, that I'm truly enjoying what I'm reading so far, and even though the book is a bit dated form the time of its publishing, it still makes one think.

Why do we Pagans look more to the Paganisms of Europe and North America than to the Paganism to be found right outside our own doors?  Am I wrong in saying we do?  I mean, we live on the African continent, with such rich histories across Her surface.  Yes, the African people are NOT too fond of telling us their religious histories, but from those few who do, can't we learn?  I feel as though we lack a certain something in our Paganism that we sometimes overlook because of our European ancestry.

Anyway, just some thoughts.  Let me know what you think ;)

On the subject of LOVE...

...I honestly don't know half as much as I'd like to.

Let's be honest:  my idea of LOVE is by no means everyone else's.  My first sexual relationship was in a threesome and that tends to skew one's perceptions.

Not a very good way to start a blog posting, I know.  Let's try again.

I know something of Love, but not enough.  I've been in a few relationships and I've mainly known where I stood, except for the relationship I had with Rocco, but anyway.  None of them were all good, but NONE of them had parts where the bad outweighed the good.  I've loved and lost, and repeated the process a few times.  And yet, I by no means believe that the process is ready to end just yet.

In Greek, there are five words for love.  They have English equivalents, but I like the idea that for some of them you need to experience it to understand it (like the Xhosa concept of "rhala"-ring something).

Right, First off:

1. ἀγάπη agápē (Agape):  This is "unconditional love" as used in Modern Greek ( Σ'αγαπώ  s'agapo ("I love you")), though in Ancient Greek it was a more general term for deep affection or "true love", as compared to eros, which is more sensual.  In the Bible the term is more akin to "sacrificial love", and in ancient texts also as a feeling towards one's children or a spouse.  The early Christians used this term to describe the love of God.
2. ἔρως érōs (Eros):  is more passionate love, leaning towards sensuality, desire and longing.  The modern term "eratos" means "intimate love"; however, this doesn't by any means mean "eros" is sexual in nature. Think of it as more than friendship (philia) but less than agape.  It's also used for a dating relatinship and a marriage.  The writer Plato had a whole definition of his own, but since I dont understand it, you'll have to go and find it for yourself.  I will say that a more physical meaning of eros is the appreciation of beauty, youthful or otherwise, without being sexual.
3. φιλία philía (Philia):  This means "friendship" or "affectionate love" in Modern Greek.  As a concept developed by Aristotle, it's a virtuous, dispassionate love, and includes loyalty to friends, family and the community.  In the old texts, philos was more widely used and described a general type of love, such as between family, friends, desire or the enjoyment of an activity, or between lovers.
4. στοργή storgē (Storge):  This is "affection" in Ancient and Modern Greek.  It's natural, such as what parents feel for their children.  Apparently it wasn't much used in ancient works, and when it was it was more to describe relationships within the family.  The description also expresses it mere acceptance or "putting up with" situations (think of "loving" the tyrant.

I've been going through mixed feeling about Love recently, mainly because of the series I'm reading at the moment, the Kushiel's Legacy trilogies by Jacqueline Carey.  Simply put, I've really started thinking very seriously about an oft-repeated line that says, "Love as thou wilt".  Simply put:  "Follow your heart."  I like this precept so much.  It's simple and really says that we need to be more honest with ourselves and who/what we love.  I mean, I love my friends, and while I was going through my most promiscuous stage, I really and honestly did love the men that came to my bed.  If you want to call it lust, go for it; however, isn't "lust" just a form of short-lived Love?  I like to think so, because, let's face it, you don't get horny for someone who doesn't do it for you on some level.  Argue?

On top of that, our Pestilence lessons have been focusing on us knowing ourselves, and the ollamh has really been making us face that.  I love so much, but there's so much space in my heart for Love that it's a wonder I don't feel emptier than I do.  I realise how much of a twit this makes me sound, or a sap, but I feel I need to get this off my chest and share it.

I have issues, and the biggest ones are with Love.  J loves saying it's because of Rocco leaving, but in truth, I had issues even before that.  I like the fleeting sense of Love that gives you butterflies and makes you excited to see someone special.  I had that, and not just with one person; I had butterflies for a few guys, each of whom had his own place in my heart for his own reasons.  Let's take the dearly departed H:  he taught me to look for the happy surprises in life, because for as long as we worked in the same building and knew of each other, neither of us were brave enough to try and do anything about it.  However, I ALWAYS felt butterflies when I saw him or got a message from him.  Up until the last time we saw each other (a month before he died) my guts would flutter when I saw a message with his name on it.  I lost them all the day I found out he'd died.

I miss my butterflies.  I know it's a case of get over it and get them back, but with J, I never had them to begin with.  We just slipped into our relationship like a hot knife into butter.  Z, I can already see the images your head's forming...

So, starting now, I'm going to try and live more by the precept of "Love as thou wilt".  I'm hereby allowing myself to have more butterflies, from whoever I meet.  Yes, I realise how this both sounds and looks, but you know what?  I hold myself back from so much because of "what if"-s and "maybe this is a good ideas"-s and "how would the other person feel"-s every day.  I'm now, officially, opening up my heart to more Love.

PS:  There's a white background to the script in the Words for Love section; to read, just highlight that part with your mouse.  I'm sorry it's there, I just don't know how to get rid of it.  Love you all!