[The Red Time of the Year is Upon Us]
It is the darkest of nights,
The moon is dressed almost completely in black –
Just a sliver of light shines above
as nothing in the forest slumbers -
The Horned God and his herd gallop, and they slither, and they walk, and they hop, and they jump, and they crawl, and they fly, and they run –
Their multiple hooves, and their feet, and their paws angrily agitate the landscape -
without grace, unpolished, and loud against the unrelenting rainfall-
The owls perch on tall tree limbs to not be disturbed,
They watch and they listen
as the forest erupts into a cacophonic symphony of ravenous roaring and thunderous sounds
The forest will no longer be as it was before…
______________
The meadow is now painted red-brown, it gleams in the next day light -
Like a liquid blanket, the grass is covered in the red-brown
The Rabbit Lord looks down upon the meadow from his triumphant hill -
he is relieved,
as he hesitantly and sadly weeps for those who are no longer
The Rabbit Lord exhales for the first time in centuries
it could have been no other way
______________
The sheep and the lambs lay silent -
Their ceremonial garments are torn and soiled
Their books, their rules, and their demands are soaked in blood and in rainwater
The pages are wet and are beginning to mold,
the words too blurred to read and to follow
The Horned God – the Ancient One – writes down nothing…
there is no need to replace, there is no desire to re-enslave –
The Rabbit Lord proudly stands tall beside his ally – his friend
while his fellow rabbits stand with him, noble and glorious
______________
The setting sun begins to, once again, surrender to approaching night
The stars drink in the light of the day to brilliantly shine
across the newly awakened and rediscovered landscape
The stars begin to twinkle once more
______________
night seeps into daylight as daylight seeps into night
evening transitions into daylight as daylight transitions into evening –
…it is the nature of things –
Change undresses slowly, like a young woman freshly wed
(there is no other way for Change to undress)
The new dawn – brilliant upon the horizon - brings with it promise –
it brings with it opportunity, and hope – and goodness
The Ancient One sniffs the freshly peaceful air and is pleased by the aroma
as the rabbits retreat to their grand rabbit lair to catch a few winks
before the new morning sun fully rises into the massive sky –
to shine its confidence brightly upon the land –
a land reborn – a land reclaimed
Then, after the sunshine tenderly falls asleep
and nightfall gently steps – once again – into the forest
The darkness embraces all who inhabit it
Now, as a gentleman – not as a force – not as a judge – not as a savior -
and not as an adversary –
It dowses the light affectionately -
The forest exhales and relaxes – the tyrant is no longer…
______________
Aslan has been slain
The wise and the newly enlightened look at his lifeless body –
it lays unmoving and is no longer threatening -
Freedom
Photo: Jimmy Broccoli.
