I Stood In The Branded Woods Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

I stood in the branded woods

that were all aflame

with the fairy light so often now disdained

reframed, given other names and quelled.

who were the listeners oh dear de la mare

who listened to squelch rare beauty everywhere

the hordes.

still in the woods I find the old despairs

the retreating horns of Elfland.

Rise! take up arms again, you fractured angel hosts

and ford the mossy banks of

what I loved the most

about my mother's words, my grandparents heraldry

the seas of imagination cannot ebb.

eternally.

mary angela douglas 9 november 2022