The Oaten Bride V Poem by David McLansky

A sudden gust clears the sky;
How brilliant shines the night-time eye;
The dancers shout relief that's joyous,
The Maiden joins the laughing chorus;

The dagger planted in the Earth
By Oaten Lord at His birth
Points a shadow with its tongue
To show the Bride the wedding's done;

The Bride is lain on marriage bed
Where She will shed Her maidenhead;
Her blood will paint the jagged stone
To sprout the Earth with Spring reborn;