Reading the Runes
\nBy
\nJoseph Anthony Petro<\/p>\n
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Scatter bits of twigs to the ground, <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nLook up through moon-lit branches,
\nGet eye-level with blades of grass,
\nStudy the kindling before it feeds the fire,
\nObserve the antlers of the silent deer,
\nNotice the positions of sleeping loved-ones,
\nStop and consider wooden fences along the roadside\u2014
\nHave any of the beams fallen creating a nied<\/em> or kenaz<\/em>?
\nTrace the markings of river rocks,
\nContemplate graffiti and the drawings of children,
\nWhat do you cast when you hastily arrange the silverware?
\nPause and pluck a moment of time,
\nGive thanks to Odin swung nine nights from the windswept ash,
\nThen read the way lines line up and down around you anywhere\u2014
\nEverywhere below and above\u2014books on shelves,
\nPencils on desks, the hair in front of your eyes–
\nLook at the lines in your own hand\u2014see the myriad crisscrossing runes.
\nWe are surrounded\u2014yes, we are
\nPart of the fabric\u2014yes, we are
\nLiving letters in skin and bone,
\nStories written in flesh and blood.
\nWhat is it our every day frenzies prophecy?
\nWhat is it we say when we dance?
\nWhat divinations do our movements betray?
\nWhat messages are we writing on the pages of the world?
\nWhat spells are we casting just by walking?
\nHow will they position our arms when we die?
\nOdin\u2014send your ravens and believe we are trying
\nTo gather the wisdom you bestowed on our lot,
\nSee our way through the falling forest,
\nAnd welcome us home once this chapter is done.<\/p>\n