LEANING ON SHADOWS
Each one holding the other all angles
wondering in circles out of the bog
Each one minding not wanting for more tangles
Not wanting for headed oil slidden as log.
Now though these friends made to lie in green
no more wanting for rocks and horse and berried table
Now left to beaking vulture and scorning mien
no more cupping still waters beside tripping cable.
Then did friends cross arm and leg and ear and nose to rely
For succour of heart to bide and hide the eyed rod
Then did cloak with healing stripes of myrrh thereby
For resting in bone desired spilling guarding nod.
Soon GreyHorse circled the friends with staffing care
no more forsaking close treading besiding still
Soon sighing and byeing in sleep to tear
no more dreams from each heart softing in thrill.
Now shadows of old hopen smoothed the heads
for soon shadows trading in want would crawl
Now curls of legs and toes and twigs in beds
for rest in folding holding unseamed shawl.
GreyHorse smelled the dawn of day untold
when menlings and swordlings would cut the cords
GreyHorse knew had once led in peace unsold
when yet lambs by ewes were made lords.
Dreaming these friends moldered the paths
that morn crouching to show
Dreaming in flops so snuffled the olden lathes
that shape the morrow in glow.
Stumbling and stretching and blowing and yawning
new day to greet in mind of old vow
Scratching and squinting unseamed dawning
new way to scratch ever East ever bent in bow.
Leaning on shadows molded to hold
now toe, now hoof, now claw, now shoe
Leaning on shadows shaping to scold
now fallen, now risen, now holden to rue.
Leaning on shadows bearing arm and staff and shield
against side of GreyHorse straining to lighten
Leaning hearts in the rising light enflaming field
against side of GreyHorse stretchin’ not bitin’
Leaning grass blades no meal for to yield
against belly of GreyHorse sworn for sightin’
Leaning hills in sands no stories dealed
against hoof and tail and flank of GreyHorse bestridin’
On and on did dear friends toil ever East ever least ever beast never feast ever foil gainst broken tale of menlings fore fruited turn, down to the age yet to come.
granbee 
Jan 24, 2012 @ 06:38:29
so beautifully lyrical.xx
Jan 24, 2012 @ 06:42:24
Thank you most humbly, Willow!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 06:59:06
Love it! God Bless 🙂
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:36:41
God bless YOU, journey! So pleased you enjoyed this post!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 08:27:15
You have a way with words…each time I come here I find something different and interesting …This is one place where I know that i will go away with something to work on!
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:38:15
So wonderful that you feel inspired here, Savira! Thank you for this very high compliment (in MY book!) of finding something “new and different” in these posts of mine! Walk into the light and let it SHINE, SHINE, SHINE from your wonderful self, Savy!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 09:05:16
Lovely poet. 🙂
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:39:02
Coco, you with the lovely, lovely family and lovely photographer’s “eye”, bless you for saying my poety is “lovely”!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 09:16:09
Beautiful, granbee. Thank you for sharing your gift and your great encouragement to all of us. You are a special person, friend. God bless
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:40:20
You are quite welcome, m and t! For two such lovely folk as yourself to include me in your company of lovelies takes my breath away! So gratified you fee encouraged from reading here!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 09:35:19
Wow! I’m always amazed by the words you use. Lovely 😀
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:41:24
nightshade, welcome to the crowd: I, too, remain amazed by the words that “come” to me as I write these posts! So pleased you are following and enjoying!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 10:07:44
“Not wanting for headed oil slidden as log.”
Your masterful manipulation of the language is refreshing. You display a skill not often found, and your familiarity with your craft has rewarded you with a lovely style that is quite enchanting. You give me something to reach toward! Magnificent work!
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:43:12
Vampire, oh, my goodness gracious! For YOU to say I am an enchanting wordcrafter is blowing me away right now! You, of all people, should know about wordcrafting when you see it! WOW! Thanks so very, very much!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 12:14:01
I am always amazed with your pieces, it is beautifully written, I love every lines…
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:44:09
Willof, to amaze you pleases me! Thank you for your gracious comments. I always enjoy your posts, of course!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 12:33:56
….”down to the age yet to come”… and the wonderful journey continues!! Thank you, Granbee. 🙂
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:46:00
Ohh, Betty, I almost changed that last phrase, because I could hear Gandalf saying that to the Hobbits and others in the Fellowship of the Ring! Then, I realized that phrase is found in several holy scripture texts around the world, so I went ahead with it. Glad I did after reading your comment here. Bless, dearest Betty!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 13:00:32
Oh, Rose, this is such a charming journey that is continuing for our enlightenment!
All of your lines were wonderful, but I do love these:
Now curls of legs and toes and twigs in beds
for rest in folding holding unseamed shawl.
Such a warm image~
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:48:03
Ooh, Lauren, I should have guessed you would especially enjoy those particular lines about folks tangled up sleeping together, after some of your really lovely odes to married bliss, etc. Yes, I wanted to indicate our “friends” were keeping each other warm while resting on their arduous mission-journey.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 13:58:46
Rose! Now you’ve got it going on. You had me at the title: Leaning on shadows. You’ve got an entire poem right there, Congratulations on this,
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:50:47
Peter, you will understand this response to you quite well: I had not slept in 30 hours when I typed in that post straight from my soul (my brain had vacated). So now are you saying I need to be sleep deprived and totally non-cognitive when I compose my narrative poetry? Not a bad idea, actually. I, too, was rather pleased with the title of “Leaning on Shadows”, I must confess. It really does say it all, doesn’t it? But stirs up curiosity to entice the reader further along, right?
Jan 24, 2012 @ 16:15:14
i really enjoyed reading it 😀
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:51:58
Oh, Aslan, as a new follower of you DarkZones blog, I am so pleased you enjoyed this post. I look forward to receiving notifications of your new posts all the time.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 17:40:42
Such an evocative piece – thanks.
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:52:51
creatingrec, I could not hope for a better compliment than your “evocative” comment about this post! Bless you and thank you deeply!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 17:46:35
Great rhythm… great use of words. 😉
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:56:38
Oh, eof, thank you for your kind compliment about the rhythms in this post–that was the only part I worked on before submitting “publish”. I wrote this post straight out of the only awake part of me at the time, my soul. I was going on 32 hours without sleep(some emergencies, some ensnarement by the writingMuse,some community duties) when I typed in this post. As I said to Peter Fulton above, I suppose I would be well-advised to put my higher cognitive functions to sleep while writing my narrative poems. Your Mirth and Motivation blog has been a treat to me and a source of inspiration ever since I “discovered” it. Bless you!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 19:15:19
Beautiful poem – thanks for sharing this part of your soul.
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:58:30
Alex, thanks for visiting here. I know how busy you are. Yes, this poem was written totally from my soul, as my brain was comatose after 32 hours without sleep(combo of entanglement with writingMuse and community/familial duties). Yes, this is a powerful reminder not to overthink stuff, right?
Jan 24, 2012 @ 21:19:42
Brilliant, vivid piece. Transports me to a peaceful place. 🙂
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:59:26
Miro, if I can transport you to a peaceful place, that is the only blessing I would seek! Warriors need to “go aside” from the fray periodically, right?
Jan 24, 2012 @ 23:03:09
Hi Granbee! As I read these beautiful pieces with excellent wordplay that are so entertaining and meaningful, I keep feeling they remind me of something…and today it hit me…Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales! Of course the pilgrimage is one way…but also the language…(minus the more risqué parts of Chaucer…)
I studied Old and Middle English when I was in college…wondering if there is any such influence on your writing.
Jan 25, 2012 @ 03:02:15
Dearest bardess, Chaucer is almost more beloved to me than Shakespeare, if that is not verging on being heretical! If you will continue to read very, very closely in some future posts of mine in this series, you will encounter a sort of critterly risque-de-dom, okay? Do not want to disappoint the fans, right? And guess what? Beowulf at times is even higher on my list than Chaucer! So watch out, beware, gird up your loins, dear bardess!
Jan 25, 2012 @ 02:25:18
A beautiful way and skilled use of English language of words, some I do not know…
I love those last two lines, they gave me a smile. You write so damned eloquent.
Love it!
Rx
Jan 25, 2012 @ 03:05:15
Hey, raven, some of these words even I do not “know” but just “feel”, okay? This being said by an English major and practitioner-to-the-wearying-point of famly and friends for over 64 years! The last two lines haunted me until I surrendered and typed them in! So glad I did after your thoughtful and helpful comment here! Love ravenwood, by the way!
Jan 25, 2012 @ 05:13:28
i have to think on this… your mind is always fresh and unforeseeable, it takes surprising turns and seems to go here and there..yet there is this red thread running below the surface and there always seems to be a lot between the lines
Jan 25, 2012 @ 05:25:17
Claudia, the red thread is beneath YOUR surface. This method of comprehension on the part of my readers is quite deliberate on my part. Somethimes tough, I know–but necessary if we are to genuinely connect with each other on our journey. We are going straight ahead, but not as one-dimensional “critters”.
Jan 25, 2012 @ 07:43:42
“wondering in circles out of the bog”
See, U thought we were homeys but you’re over here talking about me. The bog is has slowly become a thick fog and I ain’t wearing my glasses.
Jan 26, 2012 @ 04:30:33
Tots, on any spiritual quest, any soul journey we undertake, we encounter spots along the way where we wander around in a fog for time, until a new “signpost’ appears. Trust me, you would not need your glasses to “see” the “signpost”! You are too funny, girl!
Jan 25, 2012 @ 17:26:49
Beautiful piece, granbee!
Jan 26, 2012 @ 04:31:14
Nita, you sweet shuga, thank you so much. So pleased you experienced beauty here.
Jan 25, 2012 @ 19:49:43
There is such a fairytail-like,” whisperiness” (I think I just made that word up!) to your writing granbee;
I continue to be completely intrigued by it!
Christine xx
Jan 26, 2012 @ 04:32:28
“Whisperiness” is such a gift to me in your comment, Christine. I think it is perfect to describe the way these friends feel they must proceed with great wariness just now.
Jan 26, 2012 @ 04:09:26
“”GreyHorse smelled the dawn of day untold when menlings and swordlings would cut the cords”””
Arrgh.. Granbee, oh to that day we cut the cords,.. and really smell the New Dawn..
Loved this my fine clever friend.. 🙂 and look at you.. how many weeks blogging? and what a Poem!… As ever I always find so many things you touch upon in your poems… I read over several times.. but for me the above quote for some reason spoke to me..
Love and Blessings Great One! 🙂
Jan 26, 2012 @ 04:34:02
Sue, I bless you many times over for selecting this particular line to quote in your comment here. GreyHorse is indeed a vastly superior being when it comes to maintaing the good connections and shedding off the bad ones.
Jan 26, 2012 @ 09:03:13
Dear Granbee,
Eloquent words, beautiful imagery. Simply love this one, my dear.
Luv, Eric
Jan 26, 2012 @ 23:25:26
Eric, WOW! Such encouraging feedback you give me here today! As I sort of suspected, you men are really enthusiastic about this post. I think one reason is that it attempts to accurately mirror the physical hardships and the places comfort is sought on a difficult overland trek on foot. For me, these hardships and comforts accurately mirror the internal soul-trips we humans take when on spiritual quests. Thank you for your gracious comments. And I replied to your earlier comment in my “about” section that you are in great company finding that a blog you wanted to follow just didn’t let you subscribe when you thought you did. It has happened to many of us.
Jan 26, 2012 @ 20:03:40
I love this Rose, it’s the imagery and one line in particular that caught me…’when yet lambs by ewes were made lords.’ Love to you, you very talented lady xx
Jan 26, 2012 @ 23:27:00
Jane, that line was put in there especially for us mothers! Also, I am sure you know of one certain baby “lamb” I was referring to here. It is on His behalf that we travel with our critterly friends here. Thank you so very much for your gracious feedback. Love you!
Jan 29, 2012 @ 11:03:02
As usual Granbee, your poetry dances, sways, chortles, laughs, moves around, sings, and tumbles in words from one end of the poem to the other.
Jan 30, 2012 @ 17:04:42
Thomas, thank you so much for your affirmation here of my poetic yearning to peoples everywhere to employ every type of forward and postive movement together to reach the deepest hopes and dreams of all mankind.
Jan 30, 2012 @ 17:59:49
such a rhythmic tale (~_~)
Jan 30, 2012 @ 18:19:51
Rhythms helop us stay connected so that the strengths and gifts of each contribute on our quests.
Jan 31, 2012 @ 10:55:10
Lovely again, Granbee!! Thanks for such creative poetry!
Feb 01, 2012 @ 01:51:59
Thank you so very, very much, dear Fergie. Glad to see you out in blogland again! So pleased I could make a few moments “lovely” for you with this post!
Feb 15, 2012 @ 22:43:33
I’m reading backwards today and I find it really spectacular to be connected to each of the words and to be present in the journey. Thanks for always inviting us here 😀
Feb 16, 2012 @ 02:36:34
Joyce, I am MOST impressed and amazed at all the time you are spending “catching” up with our friends on this journey. Bless you. You touch my heart with your dedication.