as our grandmother passes
Once she was the maiden, then the mother
Now she serves as crone for the last time
She smells of clove and all spice
Apples and balsam
She has bathed in the sacred waters
Her gray hair is tied up with vines
The red leaves of the maple give it color again.
She is beautiful
The wolf sits on his throne, his eyes closed
He sniffs the air, his fingers clench
They feed him grapes and dried venison
Give him drink of herbs and flowers
His eyes dilate as he looks
on her, his mate
He lifts his face to the moon
Howls in the fashion of wolves everywhere
The people, the crone, and I howl back
He is magnificent
I finger my red coat, much brighter than hers
I worked on it for weeks
My blood soaking in where the needle stabbed me
I have never been handy that way
But I was not chosen for my skill
I am the maiden
I have been bathed and perfumed
My dark hair tied up with vines
The red leaves of the maple give it light
I am innocent
I wait the prescribed time, then walk through woods
grown darker than before
The moon is hiding behind a cloud but I know the way
It is in my blood, in my soul
I see grandmother leaving out the back
as I open the door
The wolf lies in bed, he smiles
As I drop my robe and stand naked
I see what big teeth he has
He is terrible
He holds out his hand and I climb into bed
We dance the sacred dance
The sheets slide over our skin, white on white
"My goddess," the wolf says.
"My consort," I answer back
We finish, loudly
The door flies open
The priest is there, his axe held high
The woodsman kills the wolf
It is the way of things
The god dies every winter, another chosen in spring
To take his place by the Mother's side
Rule as the summer God, the horned one
Until the night of the wolf
Until the night of the sacrifice
Until he dies
His blood draining, blessing the land anew
I take the hand of the priest
He lays the axe next to my lover
We leave the wolf to bleed
BIO: In addition to having several stories and poems published by Enchanted Conversation, Gerri Leen is celebrating the release of her first collection of short stories, Life Without Crows, published by Hadley Rille Books. See what else she's been up to at her website: http://www.gerrileen.com.
