Two Poems by Adele Ogier Jones

 

Foraging

 

Now with dawn, deep silence gone

as crickets warm to birdsong,

we forage for wild herbs as they did

long ago, to calm, to charm

to heal.

 

Oak leaf and wildflowers for crowns

wound with cornflowers,

chamomile and marigolds

sage, wild marjoram, and yarrow

for love

 

Then, by pathways collect elderberry

from deep in the forest far

away from lonely land sprayed toxic,

secret spots kept pure for drafts

enlivening.

 

Here crowned in first solstice sunlight,

eyes sparkle, reflecting green ponds

rivers swollen in last melting snows,

restored in solstice gatherings

with song.

 

Listen to the message on the wind

and catch sure signs in skies above

grasslands and hills, where sun seeps

into year’s longest day with messages

of possibility.

Standing stones

 

Listen to the message on the wind

and catch sure signs in skies above

the hills where sun will filter through

this morning on year’s longest day

for those dreaming.

 

Where morning’s grand silence

waits to be broken,

early sunrays stream to lands

it saw before days counting

time.

 

Beyond deep forests cleared

on mountains high

where old light streams through,

ancient stones stand still

waiting.

 

For each new light announces

time touching dark places forgotten

through long winter’s season,

promised pilgrim messages

renewed.

 

Here the spirit world remains

at peace on mountains gazing out

over valleys shrouded, sombre still

on lakes where darkest depths hide

secrets

 

Which only time knows waiting

for new summer light again,

for magic fires lit in late darkness

on this warm splendid summer

solstice night.

A member of The Poetry Society (UK), Adèle writes creatively as Ogiér Jones and calls Freiburg i. Br. and Melbourne home. She has four collections of poems, including Beyond the Blackbird Field (Ginninderra Press, 2016) and three collections in the Pocket Poets series, also published by Ginninderra Press. She appears in numerous anthologies and has been shortlisted and awarded in poetry competitions. Much of her poetry is inspired by her international work, and by her passion for walking in bush, forest, and mountains wherever she lives.