It is cold tonight,
leave a saucer of sweet-milk
out for the fairies.

Midsummer-Eve: the Flight of the Faeries
by Michael R. Burch

What happened to the mysterious Tuatha De Danann, to the Ban Shee (from which we get the term “banshee”) and, eventually, to the druids? One might assume that with the passing of Merlyn, Morgause and their ilk, the time of myths and magic ended. This poem is an epitaph of sorts.

In the ruins
of the dreams
and the schemes
of men;

when the moon
begets the tide
and the wide
sea sighs;

when a star
appears in heaven
and the raven
cries;

we will dance
and we will revel
in the devil’s
fen . . .

if nevermore again.

Keywords/Tags: Druids, Banshee, Picts, Scots, Scottish, fairies, glade, raven, gull, King Arthur, Arthurian, Morgause, Merlin, round table, knights, England, stone, Excalibur, chivalry, Camelot, Uther Pendragon, Colgrim, Saxon

The Pictish Faeries
by Michael R. Burch

Smaller and darker
than their closest kin,
    the faeries learned only too well
    never to dwell
close to the villages of larger men.

Only to dance in the starlight
when the moon was full
    and men were afraid.
    Only to worship in the farthest glade,
ever heeding the raven and the gull.

The invincible Roman legions were never able to subdue the Scottish Picts, and eventually built Hadrian’s Wall to protect themselves! Did the Picts give rise to our myths of fairies, elves and leprechauns? Keywords/Tags: Picts, Scots, Scottish, fairies, glade, raven, gull, King Arthur, Arthurian, Morgause, Merlin, round table, knights, England, stone, Excalibur, chivalry, Camelot, Saxon

Graceful as a bird on the wing
Opening its beak to sing;
Slender hands dancing to and fro,
Weaving gossamer threads of snow;
Eyes piercing as shards of ice,
Quick to name fate’s price;
Lips as dainty as a flower bud,
Red as the color of fresh blood;
Ears with slightly pointed tips,
Soft as velvet, yet sharp as whips;
A tiny little button nose,
Slender as the petals of a rose;
Hair as golden as a ray of sun,
Shining when the day is done;
I saw her amongst the golden trees,
But deaf ears fell upon my pleas,
And on fleeting feet she fled,
Back to her mossy forest bed.

Tip
  Tap
Tip
      Tap

I ponder over the puddle

Splish
   Splash
Splish
    S p l a s h

I fall in and crash
I'm but a little fairie
I sure do feel blue
I look unto you
But know not who

   Drip
       Drop
Drip
    Drop

Tears fall down

Tick
  Tick
Tickicky
    Tock
I feel like a rock
Stuck and glossed over
Am I meant to be here
Or in another lake
Sinking forever

Flip
   Flap
Flip
   Flap
I want to find my wings

Blank
   Blank
     Blank

I feel stuck in a lake
Lost my way
Dripping into the puddle
Til it's deeper
Deeper
   Deeper
Deep
From puddle
To lake
Now a ocean
Of emptiness

I'm a purple fairie
Locked in a bottle
Grasping for air
Sinking in despair

I talk of my obscenities
No one listens
Just watching the show
I apologize
I'm here for you
Nothing I do
Is true
Not anymore
My sparkles
Sank to the bottom

Now I'm dripping
Not of Earth
But of tears alone
My puddle is dry
Except for the tears
I had to cry

One day I'll say goodbye
Before I do
Will I ever find
My beautiful shining wings?
I can't escape my bottle
The pressure is too strong
afraid of all I've done wrong

I've been trapped too long
No one wants my fairie song

La
  La
Lala
  Lala

Fix me
Please
Find me
Oh please
Make me
A real fairie

come with me
to the secret garden
let us dance with fairies
and eat wild berries

a cobblestone path
leads us to a witch’s hut
she casts a love spell on you
but not on me

frolic through lavender fields
the bees tell us stories
i am listening to their every word
you are listening to my heartbeat

eat these magic mushrooms
that the caterpillar gave us
i can see your aura and i can smell your words
but you know that feeling every time you look at me

i want to leave, this is not my realm
but you were born here

my knees are bruised

my stomach is full

my bleary eye has been caught


my breath treads shallow

my blood runs deep

my voice is swept by the majesty


my hands grow weary

my heart grows with them

my bones are a fortress of solitude


part them

in such sweet sorrow

my clouded lungs rejoice