Please don’t ask me about the
Shake in my hands,
The kicks of my legs
The pain behind my eyes.
What keeps me
In these beds, these chairs...
What made me scream in my sleep
In those first years...

Ask me how I feel
When I see a buzzard fly low
Scaling the fields with its beauty.
Ask me how I feel when I see a kingfisher
Trail blue beauty on a grey day.

Ask me how mossy rivers
Still weave a path
Around my heart. I
Feel their flow still, from here.

Ask me how I feel
When my fragile body
Sits beside them
In those precious moments
Held high against the grey.

Ask me how I feel
When blackbirds
At dusk promise beauty
Scythed feather calls
From the dark.

Ask me how I feel
When the shadows move the hills
When light shapes the dark
When the old gods call in
Winter winds.

Ask me how I feel
When I capture their image
On a sensor, when my
Heart soars with the swallows.

Blackbird song pierces the rain
A green thread of Spring,
A needle in a dark woven tapestry.
It dances through me
Beauty, flying slow, curling green
As I open my eyes to the day.

RB
16/5/17

I miss hearing the owl's call
I imagine walking to the field nearby
To wait and listen
To the winter's earthed silence
And the call that heralds the night
To feel the silent wings slice the air
And to feel the birds freedom
Calling back feathered arrows on the
Starry breeze
The sweet smell of a winters night
Fills me and I await her call.

We were built as a compass to the
Stars and the sun
The moon held us
As the earth turned.
We were raised in wildwood
Times, when fires burned
In hearts above.
Standing still, prayers still
Drip from us,
We hold your knowledge
In the turning of the sun.
RB

We have stood ship backed
Against the wind, and the rain
Our roots delve deep in the Devon soil.
Moss, and bird song protect us
We watch, we breath as the sun turns.
Our branches hold a thousand lives
Earthbound we know our songs.
Spinning endlessly under the ancient stars

What it would be to have wings
And lift oneself up
To have
Feathers jewelled like the dark,
Evergreens in the inky night.

To stretch out and hover fast
Against star led currents
And glowing thermals.

The world stretched out beneath,
Like reams of dark memory
Inscribed against iridescent feather.

And then to glide, to down soar
Landing slow, to feel earth's  winged beat
Again, and hold the feathered
Jewels against the heart.

The moon dazzled me last night,
As I woke from dreams of Saxon warriors.
Swords and shores helmed deep
Across the years.
A ship sunk In a low east hill
A helmet turns with the lunar tide.

Bodies and bone turned to sand
Empty caskets blank to the starry sky,
Warriors, lovers, beholders
Slip into their Earth.

A graveyard of ship sails and men
The tongue of a dragon whispers
And calls them from the depths
Of the river
To clear water on the other side.

Last night I was a wolf
Roaming the far west glen
Where the ocean meets the dune grass
And the pines melt into the sand
I ran with my brothers and sisters
Under the star heralded sky.
I reached a rise in the lit land
And howled a bellow to the rising
Yellowed moon, the cold air
Seared my fur.  And I was at one
With the wild, holly berries glowed
Red like plant fire in the branches
And the wave led silence
Brought me home.

I have not the words
For my lines, they have evaded me.
Sometimes I feel them slip
Under the horizon
Out of my eye line
Alive in the cracks
Like the edge of a mirror.
I imagine them, on the edge,
Their horizon, being lit by
The moon and the sun
Day and night, passes and scythed letters
I cannot remember, sink deep in the
Earth, my words, slip
In this fog.

I hope I can reach them soon,
Lit by the years, and the moon and sun,
My lost words under the horizon.

RB

I watched you today;
I admired your strutting decadence
Unruly, dishevelled bird of jagged honesty
Ruffled, disrespectful feathers that shine
And reflect your begging, squawking call

You and four of your friends,
Dragged down a helpless potato I
Left out for you;
Pinioned it to the ground
With strutted abandon

Oh bird much maligned;
Bird of ungainly beauty
Hobo, derelict, winged, caller
When you murmur the
Shaking stirred skies
With your flocks,

The noise black swirled and reckless
Never fails to make us catch our breath
That such flock - formed beauty could come
From a ragged kingdom call
Makes my own wings;
Take Flight

Blessed by the stars are we
Warmed by the sun
Shone on by the moon
Grounded by the earth
Moved by the sea

Made strong by the mountains
Befriended by the rivers
Fired by the warmth of her dark heart
And lifted by the blue trimmed breeze

Every moment dark and light
Loved and unspoken

She holds us in her silent woven
Song

An ode to the raggedy starling

I watched you today;
I admired your strutting decadence
Unruly, dishevelled bird of jagged honesty
Ruffled, disrespectful feathers that shine
And reflect your begging, squawking call

You and four of your friends,
Dragged down a helpless potato I
Left out for you;
Pinioned it to the ground
With strutted abandon

Oh bird much maligned;
Bird of ungainly beauty
Hobo, derelict, winged, caller
When you murmur the
Shaking stirred skies
With your flocks,

The noise black swirled and reckless
Never fails to make us catch our breath
That such flock - formed beauty could come
From a ragged kingdom call
Makes my own wings;
Take Flight

Just written :-)

These trees are like creatures;
Singing earth held songs of ancient
Untold time
Bracken Moss Fuelled
Stories run down the mossy
Branches and slide into
My humble thoughts
Sitting here amongst such
Quiet shouting knowledge

And I wonder when mere words
Are done with
And the world again speaks
Again with wild language
What these earth bound trees will say of us
To the starred heavens above

Ancient Trackways


My mind travels sometimes
To the ancient trackways across the land;
The furrows that unfurl the past,
And lead to the soft pathed hills
streaked with moss and fern.

I imagine the many feet that have trod
The paths to shrine, stones, and wells
And the deep memories they share;
The streams of wisdom flow on now, in silence
Knowledge runs green against the whispering sky.

The clues are there in the landscape, should you wish to hear
The rushing wisdoms that echo across deep lanes and green trees.

Listen for my whisper in the quiet lanes
And I'll guide you where the ancient footsteps lead
To the sacred places that lie still and quiet in the land

Take me to the well of healing
That lies at the end of the hillside
And I will find peace there
In the sound of the clear water
And the pure sky Lay out the herbs of healing
At my feet
Vervain, mistletoe, meadowsweet
And we shall sit awhile by the ancient well
And be strengthened again
With the waters borne from the mighty ocean
And the brown earth beneath our feet
And there shall be silent ringing peace
In our souls

I'll see you on that healing hillside.


Written By Rachel Burch 28/3/2012

This was the year
I opened my heart
And the dark met with light
Amongst shouting green fields
I ran with friends across tent
Filled hills
And we shared our quiet secrets there
For all the world to hear;
For the stone strewn streams to listen
And the silent ever giving trees to bear witness.

This was the year I moved and made waves
Hung the pictures of my soul on whitewashed
Walls, and people gathered and read the traces
Of my earth browned hands there.
This was the year I reached
And grasped the sun filled future
With both browned hands
And I can hear the echo now
Of words work done,
Shout quietly back off the hills
In this gentle Winter
And my friends wait open handed
At the gateway
I join them.

When the river of words runs dry
And the sparkled silence comes.
When tender moments falter
And the green lanes shimmer
May the light of summer be held there
And carried with you
Across the histories of our truth

To the sea sanded footsteps of your shores
And may you keep it there
To light the waves of your hearts.

In the dark kindled moments before the fire sparks
Hold my warm memory in the flames of your story.
(May 2011)

Surfers like seals dot the ocean
Out in this swell, the salt laden pull
Anchors me in the wide bay
As the sand smooth as silk
Trails the briny tide.

I look back against the sun sparkled shore
As the footprints of my truth follow me
As I stand watching the waves break
And fall, their grey veined song echoes through me

And I feel complete now here at this
Otherworldy edge, the bold striped pebbles
Sit at my feet as unspoken words
More truths as yet to be undiscovered
Green dancing journeys  stretch out amongst the waves
And this solitary happiness resounds silently across the Bay.

I can feel her change now
The shift of turf beneath our feet
The soft spotlights hit the hillsides
The colour comes back
And summer harshness fades away.
As I turn to face the long tunnel
Of the year
I can hear the hags call
Urgent yet always gentle
I know I can face her now
Look her in the eye
Explain this past year
And the sadness has gone
From my eyes
The golden leaf strewn mist
Has lifted while I wasn’t
Looking
too busy smiling loving
Friending
So when she calls now
Her leaf blown nut fuelled
Whisper
I’m ready

I realise that I love this winter
And it is now
Suddenly, the trees show their gentle branches
To the world, silver white against
The broad sky
The birds sing their shrill prayers
By day and the owl murmur their own words
At night to the silver moon
And there we are hunched, buried in this rich earth
Nestled against deep leaved memories
I’m happy this year to curl up and wait this time
Until the silver chuckle of Spring appears again
Over the ripening hills
To spread her dulcet wings
Then she'll brush our cheeks
And wake us from this quiet earth
Ill see you on that green hillside.
7/12/11

Sweet Dark

As I walked out in the in the dark
I wondered when I would
Feel a familiar caress
A soft whisper a tender moment
Gently shared and gently held.


I walked down the granite track
And the trees stood stone sentry like in the dark.
Their words dripped silver notes
Into this song
‘Think child’, they said;
‘Of all the people who walked this way,
Thought themselves alone
We have heard them.
The wood smoked cries
Echo across the years to meet you.

You are not alone.

(The acorn etched fields shifted)
Enjoy the sweet dark
This pain will be your strength
The anchor in your harbour bound heart’.

Then they were silent and I turned back
To the bay beached barn
And a light swam through
The waves of my heart.
(Dec 2010)

Tavy CleaveWhen I walked along your leats;The hawk soared the sky,Singing it's song like prayer,Cutting through blue time.Round your corner of hill majesty,Tawny colours grew;Grass: dun as a horses back;Cleaved hills knitted my fissured flesh and heart.Empted I approached:The blue river of you flowed through me,Where echoed waterfalls reached deep pools,Sweet wild songs rose to the top of your granite shoulders.

Here in these lowlands,I turn and you call,Your voice comes across the miles,Reaching me at lastYour bracken filled hills resound around these walls,Your rivers swirl and heal my pain,Your oak filled greenwoods wait for my laughter.Painful it is leaving mine here;But your groves and hills have become my family,Nestling here in sheltered sleep,Your stone forest sings my dreams awake.

Etched into my dream memory.Joy, laughter, regret, despairThat moment, frozen in time,A piece of myself reflected in a landscape,The hills of my heart blur and fade….Sharpen and sing.

Ash Tree, Scorhill, Dartmoor.How many times did I pass you?Gnarled, twisted, soulful;You were a gateway to my otherworld,A silver portal to the circle of my heart,The winds have shaped your passage,Like a grey ship on stormy seas you have endured.The wave years have taken their toll,Branches bend now in nodding sleep…Your roots entwine the grey granite rocks,Smooth and strong, they bore my silent tear streaked dreams away….

The shadows of us fall away,
Opening portals within ourselves,
The joy of us, the song,
Fills us together.

We fall as one, our shadows unite,
Our sunrise opens across the sky
The landscape of us stretches out
As this dawn dampens our tears
To the silver sky.

Moss bound footsteps lead me to the weir
Cold touches my cheeks mingling with the warmth inside,
Echoes of the night surround me, unspoken whispers linger on my lips.

The river at my feet flows on and through
My open heart pours sun dappled light against the sheen
Warmth comes flooding back across the cold hope of years.

Loves sunrise opens the sky -
My upturned face meets it’s warmth
As the glow moves gently in the deep waters below.

The soft welcome healed me
In this valley  of sheltered dreams.

Time wound it’s way down muddy tracks
And flower streaked hedges shared my pain.

Rivers wove their pebbled course around me,
With every passing day my heart began to heal.

Now, slowly the oak greened night draws in ,
Owls call me to sleep as silvered words
rise to the star spangled sky

WHITSANDS BAY CORNWALL
The hawk hangs in the air
A brown sear in the sky
Above the craggy cliffs here
Sea ripples endlessly like shot silk
Blue and green.

Behind the chapel of ancient dreams
The hawk dives down to the blue
Lost in the endless expanse of sparkle
The ocean of you reaches me at last.

It touches me as the songs of our heart pour to heaven.

POLZEATH CORNWALL
Gathered here amongst the hills of our hearts
The stones of us, our joy, hopes, history, dreams
Tumble out as words
Bold pebbles against the sandy shore.

Doubtful shadows creep around me
I feel their breath at my back
Their salt ****** my eyelids,
Pulsing, this circle of light,  words, and laughter brings me back ,
This sweet belonging bears me away.

The streams and fields of us sing this landscape
The echo resounds around these walls
As our souls meet on the far silver shore.